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52d  Congress,  ) 

2d  Session.  \ 


SENATE. 


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IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


REPORT 


ON 


DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


WITH 


MAPS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


BY 

P 

SHELDON  JACKSON, 

GENERAL  AGENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ALASKA. 


18  9  3. 


January  10;  1893. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Appropriations  and 

ordered  to  be  printed. 


/ 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

18  9  3. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


Department  oe  the  Interior, 

Bureau  of  Education, 

Washington ,  January  9,  1893. 

Sir:  In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Senate  passed  January 
6,  1893,  directing’  that  the  Commissioner  of  Education  transmit  to  the 
Senate  a  copy  of  the  latest  report  of  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson  on  the  in¬ 
troduction  of  domesticated  reindeer  into  Alaska,  I  have  the  honor  to 
transmit  said  report  herewith. 

Very  respectfully, 

W.  T.  Harris, 

Commissioner. 


The  President  of  the  Senate. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Alaska  Library  Network 


https://archive.org/details/reportonintroducOOunse 


m. 


U.  S.  Revenue  Cutter  “  Bear 
[Photo,  by  Dr.  S. 


”  Communicating  with  Siberian  Deermen. 
J.  Call.  From  The  Californian.] 


Herd  of  Domesticated  Reindeer,  and  Temporary  Village  of  Siberian  Deermen. 

[Photo,  by  Dr.  S.  J.  Call.  From  The  Californian.] 


[Frontispiece 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


Department  of  the  Interior, 

Bureau  of  Education,  Alaska  Division, 

Washington ,  I).  (7.,  January  2 ,  1893. 

Sir:  So  many  inquiries  have  been  made  since  my  return  from  Alaska 
concerning’  the  present  progress  of  the  plan  to  introduce  domesticated 
reindeer  into  Alaska,  that  it  seems  expedient  to  make  a  special  report 
on  that  branch  of  the  work  of  the  office  without  waiting  for  the  regu¬ 
lar  annual  report  on  education  in  Alaska. 

I  have  the  honor  therefore  to  submit  the  following  report  of  progress 
on  the  introduction  of  domesticated  reindeer  into  Alaska: 

In  the  summer  of  1890,  in  accordance  with  your  instructions,  I  vis¬ 
ited  Northern  Alaska  and  established  schools  for  the  Arctic  Eskimo  at 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  Point  Hope,  and  Point  Barrow.  Through  the 
courtesy  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  of  Capt.  L.  Gr.  Shepard, 
chief  of  the  Revenue  Marine  Division  of  the  Treasury  Department,.! 
was  permitted  to  accompany  the  U.  S.  Revenue  Marine  Steamer  Bear , 
Oapt.  M.  A.  Healy,  commanding,  on  her  annual  cruise  in  Bering  Sea 
and  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

In  addition  to  conveying  me  to  the  points  designated,  Captain  Healy 
was  under  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  visit  the 
coast  of  Siberia,  and  distribute  presents  to  the  Koraks  around  Cape 
Navarin  in  return  for  shelter  and  food  furnished  shipwrecked  American 
whalers.  He  was  also  under  commission  from  Superintendent  Porter, 
of  the  Census  Office  to  take  a  census  of  the  native  population  along 
the  arctic  coast  of  Alaska  and  the  islands  of  Bering  Sea,  which  popu¬ 
lation  could  not  be  reached  by  the  usual  enumerators. 

•The  trip  to  Siberia  enabled  me  to  make  a  cruise  of  700  miles  along  that 
little-known  coast,  and  study  somewhat  the  character  of  the  native 
population  under  conditions  corresponding  with  those  under  which  life 
must  be  maintained  in  Alaska.  I  found  them  to  be  a  hardy,  active, 
and  well-fed  people,  owning  tens  of  thousands  of  head  of  domestic  rein¬ 
deer. 

The  taking  of  the  census  of  arctic  Alaska  furnished  me  even  more 
extensive  facilities  for  studying  the  condition  of  the  Eskimo  of  Alaska. 
I  found  them  like  their  neighbors  on  the  Siberian  side  to  be  a  hardy 
and  active  people,  but  because  they  had  never  been  instructed  to  depend 
upon  the  raising  of  reindeer  as  a  support,  unlike  the  Siberians,  they 
were  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  The  whale  and  walrus  that  formerly 
had  constituted  the  principal  portion  of  their  food  have  been  destroyed 
or  driven  off  by  the  whalers;  and  the  wild  reindeer  that  once  abounded 
in  their  country,  have  been  killed  off  by  the  introduction  of  breech-load¬ 
ing  firearms. 

The  thorough  canvas  of  the  native  population  for  enumeration,  neces¬ 
sitating  a  landing  wherever  even  one  or  two  tents  were  seen  on  the 

5 


6  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


beacli,  furnished  unusual  opportunities  for  observing  the  educational 
needs  of  that  people  and  learning  the  great  difficulties  under  which 
schools  will  have  to  be  carried  on. 

Upon  my  return  to  Washington  I  had  the  honor  on  November  12  to 
address  you  a  preliminary  report  of  the  season’s  work,  emphasizing  the 
destitute  condition  of  the  Alaskan  Eskimo. 

On  the  5th  of  December  this  report  was  transmitted  by  you  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  for  his  information  and  on  the  15th  transmit¬ 
ted  to  the  Senate  by  Hon.  George  Chandler,  Acting  Secretary  of  the 
Interior.  On  the  following  day  it  was  referred  by  the  Senate  to  the 
Committee  on  Education  and  Labor. 

On  the  19th  of  December,  Hon.  Louis  E.  MeComas,  of  Maryland,  in¬ 
troduced  into  the  House  of  Representatives  a  joint  resolution  (H.  R. 
No.  258),  providing  that  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  March  2, 1887, 
“An  act  to  establish  agricultural  experiment  stations  in  connection 
with  the  colleges  established  in  the  several  States  under  the  provi¬ 
sions  of  an  act  approved  July  2,  1802,  and  of  the  acts  supplementary 
thereto”  and  an  act  approved  August  30,  1890,  entitled  “An  act  to 
apply  a  portion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands  to  the  more  complete 
endowment  and  support  of  the  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  established  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  of 
Congress  approved  July  2,  1862,”  should  be  extended  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  over  Alaska,  with  the  expectation  that  the  purchase, 
improvement,  and  management  of  domestic  reindeer  should  be  made  a 
part  of  the  industrial  education  of  the  proposed  college. 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education,  and  on 
the  9th  of  January,  1891,  reported  back  to  the  House  of  Representa¬ 
tives  for  passage.  (See  Appendix  A.) 

It  was,  however,  so  near  the  close  of  the  short  term  of  Congress  that 
the  resolution  was  not  reached. 

When  it  became  apparent  that  it  would  not  be  reached  in  the  usual 
way,  the  Hon.  Henry  M.  Teller,  on  the  26tli  of  February  moved  an 
amendment  to  the  bill  (H.  R.  No.  13162)  making  appropriations  for  sun¬ 
dry  civil  expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1892,  appropriating  $15,000  for  the  introduction  of  domestic  reindeer 
into  Alaska,  which  was  carried.  The  appropriation  failed  to  receive 
the  concurrence  of  the  conference  committee  of  the  House  of  Repre¬ 
sentatives. 

Upon  the  failure  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress  to  take  action,  and  depre¬ 
cating  the  delay  of  twelve  months  before  another  attempt  could  be 
made,  with  your  approval,  I  made  an  appeal  in  the  Mail  and  Express 
of  New  York  City,  the  Boston  Transcript,  the  Philadelphia  Ledger,  the 
Chicago  Interocean,  and  Washington  Star,  as  well  as  in  a  number  of 
the  leading  religious  newspapers  of  the  country,  for  contributions  to 
this  object.  The  response  Avas  prompt  and  generous ;  $2,146  were 
received.  (Appendix  B.) 

As  the  season  had  arrived  for  the  usual  visit  of  inspection  and 
supervision  of  the  schools  in  Alaska  you  were  kind  enough  to  direct 
that  in  addition  to  my  regular  work  for  the  schools,  I  should  continue 
in  charge  of  the  work  of  transplanting  domesticated  reindeer  from 
Siberia  to  Alaska.  As  the  natives  of  Siberia,  who  own  the  reindeer, 
know  nothing  of  the  use  of  money,  an  assortment  of  goods  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  barter  for  the  reindeer  was  procured  from  the  funds  so  gener¬ 
ously  contributed  by  benevolent  people  in  answer  to  the  appeal  through 
the  newspapers. 


The  honorable  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  issued 


instructions  to  Cap- 


INTRODUCTION  OP  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  7 


tain  Healy  to  furnish  me  every  possible  facility  for  the  purchase  and 
transportation  of  reindeer  from  Siberia  to  Alaska.  The  honorable 
Secretary  of  State  secured  from  the  Kussian  Government  instructions 
to  their  officers  on  the  Siberian  coast,  also,  to  render  what  assistance 
they  could,  and  on  May  25th,  1892,  I  again  took  passage  on  the  revenue 
cutter  Bear,  Captain  Healy  in  command,  for  the  cost  of  Siberia. 

The  proposition  to  introduce  domesticated  reindeer  into  Alaska  had 
excited  widespread  and  general  interest.  In  the  public  discussions 
which  arose  with  regard  to  the  scheme  a  sentiment  was  found  in  some 
circles  that  it  was  impracticable;  that  on  account  of  the  superstitions 
of  the  natives  they  would  be  unwilling  to  sell  their  stock  alive;  fur¬ 
ther,  that  the  nature  of  the  reindeer  was  such  that  he  would  not  bear 
ship  transportation,  and  also  that  even  if  they  could  be  purchased  and 
safely  transported  the  native  dogs  on  the  Alaskan  coast  would  destroy 
or  the  natives  kill  them  for  food.  This  feeling,  which  was  held  by 
many  intelligent  white  men  (Appendix  C),  was  asserted  so  strongly 
and  positively  that  it  was  thought  best  the  first  season  to  make  haste 
slowly,  and  instead  of  purchasing  a  large  number  of  reindeer  to  pos¬ 
sibly  die  on  shipboard,  or  perhaps  to  be  destroyed  by  the  Alaskan  dogs 
(thus  at  the  very  outset  prejudicing  the  scheme),  it  was  deemed  wiser 
and  safer  to  buy  only  a  few. 

Therefore,  in  the  time  available  from  other  educational  duties  during 
the  season  of  1891,  it  seemed  important  that  I  should  again  carefully 
review  the  ground  and  secure  all  possible  additional  information  with 
regard  to  the  reindeer,  and,  while  delaying  the  actual  establishment  of 
a  herd  until  another  season,  that  I  should  determine  the  correctness  of 
the  objections  that  the  natives  would  not  sell  and  the  deer  would  not 
bear  transportation  by  actually  purchasing  and  transporting  them. 

The  work  was  so  new  and  untried  that  many  things  could  only  be 
found  out  by  actual  experience. 

First.  The  wild  deermen  of  Siberia  are  a  very  superstitious  people, 
and  need  to  be  approached  with  great  wisdom  and  tact. 

Upon  one  occasion,  when  Capt.  Healy  purchased  a  few  reindeer  for 
food,  the  following  ceremonies  were  observed:  When  getting  ready  to 
lasso  the  deer  the  owner’s  family  seated  themselves  in  a  circle  on  the 
ground,  where  probably  some  rites  connected  with  their  superstitions 
were  observed.  Upon  attempting  to  approach  the  circle,  I  was  motioned 
away.  After  a  short  time  the  men  went  out  and  lassoed  a  selected 
animal,  which  was  led  to  one  side  of  the  herd.  The  man  that  was  lead¬ 
ing  him  stationed  himself  directly  in  front  of  the  animal  and  held  him 
firmly  by  the  two  horns.  Another  with  a  butcher  knife  stood  at  the 
side  of  the  deer.  An  old  man,  probably  the  owner,  went  off  to  the  east¬ 
ward,  and  placing  his  back  to  the  setting  sun  seemed  engaged  in  prayer, 
upon  the  conclusion  of  which  he  turned  around  and  faced  the  deer. 
This  was  the  signal  for  knifing  the  animal.  With  apparently  no  effort, 
the  knife  was  pushed  to  the  heart  and  withdrawn.  The  animal  seemed 
to  suffer  no  pain,  and  in  a  few  seconds  sank  to  his  knees  and  rolled 
over  on  his  side.  While  this  was  taking  place  the  old  man  before  men¬ 
tioned  stood  erect  and  motionless,  with  his  hand  over  his  eyes.  When 
the  deer  was  dead  he  approached,  and  taking  a  handful  of  hair  and 
blood  from  the  wound,  impressively  threw  it  to  the  eastward.  This 
was  repeated  a  second  time.  Upon  the  killing  of  the  second  animal, 
the  wife  of  the  owner  cast  the  hair  and  blood  to  the  eastward. 

Since  then  I  have  often  observed  the  man  who  was  selling  a  deer 
pluck  some  hair  from  the  deer  and  put  it  in  his  pocket  or  throw  it  to 
the  winds  for  good  luck. 


8  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 

If  a  man  should  sell  us  deer,  and  tlie  following  winter  an  epidemic 
break  out  in  his  herd,  or  some  calamity  befall  his  family,  the  Shamans 
would  make  him  believe  that  his  bad  luck  was  all  due  to  the  sale  of 
the  deer. 

Second.  The  Siberian  deermen  are  a  nonprogressive  people.  They 
have  lived  for  ages  outside  of  the  activities  and  progress  of  the  world. 
As  the  fathers  did,  so  continue  to  do  their  children. 

ISTow  they  have  never  before  been  asked  to  sell  their  deer;  it  is  a  new 
thing  to  them,  and  they  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  They  were 
suspicious  of  our  designs.  And  in  reference  to  this  state  of  mind  I 
have  found  that  being  on  a  Government  vessel  has  been  of  great  assist¬ 
ance.  It  impresses  the  natives  with  confidence  that  they  will  be 
treated  honorably  and  justly.  This  moral  effect  was  so  great  that  we 
secured  results  that  otherwise  could  not  have  been  obtained  so  easily. 

Then,  Capt.  Healy,  commander  of  the  Bear ,  is  well  known  for 
thousands  of  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  coast,  and  the  natives  have 

confidence  in  him.  With 
a  stranger  in  command  I 
am  confident  that  but 
little  would  have  been  ac¬ 
compli  shed  in  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  1891. 

Purchasing  reindeer  in 
Siberia  is  very  different 
from  going  to  Texas  and 
buying  a  herd  of  cattle. 
In  Texas  such  a  sale 
could  be  consummated  in 
a  few  minutes  or  hours. 
But  in  Siberia  it  takes 
both  time  and  patience. 

Upon  the  anchoring  of 
the  ship  in  the  vicinity  of 
of  a  settlement  the  na¬ 
tives  flock  aboard,  bring¬ 
ing  skins  and  furs  to  ex¬ 
change  for  Hour,  cotton 
cloth,  powder,  lead,  etc. 

Once  aboard  they  ex¬ 
pect  to  be  fed  by  the  cap¬ 
tain,  and  bucket  after 
bucket  of  hard  bread  is 
distributed  among  them. 
They  know  perfectly  well 
that  we  are  after  rein¬ 
deer,  but  nothing  is  said 
about  it.  They  have  to 
be  feasted  first.  They 
are  never  in  a  hurry  and 
therefore  do  not  see  why 

llan-en-ka.  We  SllOllld  be. 

[The  first  Siberian  to  sell  a  reindeer  for  the  Alaska  herd.  1891.  Published  by  permission  A  n  lifflo  emoll 

of  the  Californian.]  ct  IILIiIvT',  ollldill 

presents  are  judiciously 
given  to  the  wife  or  child  of  a  leading  man,  and  when  everyone  is  in 
good  humor  a  few  of  the  leaders  are  taken  into  the  pilot-house  and  the 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  9 

main  subject  is  opened.  After  much  discussion  and  talking  all  around 
the  subject  one  man  is  ready  to  sell  twenty  and  another  perhaps  only 
turn.  After  all  is  arranged  the  leading  men  send  their  servants  off 
after  the  deer,  which  may  be  in  the  vicinity  or  four  or  five  days7  journey 
away*  Sometimes  these  delays  consume  a  week  or  more  at  a  place. 

Another  difficulty  arises  from  the  fact  that  they  can  not  understand 
what  we  want  of  the  reindeer.  They  have  no  knowledge  of  such  a  mo¬ 
tive  as  doing  good  to  others  without  pay. 

As  a  rule  the  men  with  the  largest  herds,  who  can  best  afford  to  sell, 
are  inland  and  difficult  to  reach. 

Then  business  selfishness  comes  in.  The  introduction  of  the  reindeer 
on  the  American  side  may  to  some  extent  injuriously  affect  their  trade 
in  deer  skins.  From  time  immemorial  they  have  been  accustomed  to 
take  their  skins  to  Alaska  and  exchange  them  for  oil.  To  establish 
herds  in  Alaska  will,  they  fear,  ruin  this  business. 

Another  difficulty  experienced  was  the  impossibility  of  securing  a 
competent  interpreter. 

A  few  of  the  natives  of  the  Siberian  coast  have  spent  one  or  more 
seasons  on  a  whaler  and  thus  picked  up  a  very  little  English.  And 
upon  this  class  we  have  been  dependent  in  the  past. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  a  native  young  man  should  be  secured  and 
trained  as  an  interpreter  who  could  be  employed  regularly,  year  after 
year. 

However,  notwithstanding  all  these  difficulties  and  delays,  Oapt. 
Healy  with  the  Bear  coasted  from  1,200  to  1,500  miles,  calling  at  the 
various  villages  and  holding  conferences  with  the  leading  reindeer  own¬ 
ers  on  the  Siberian  coast.  Arrangements  were  made  for  the  purchase 
of  animals  the  following  season.  Then,  to  answer  the  question  whether 
reindeer  could  be  purchased  and  transported  alive,  sixteen  were  pur¬ 
chased,  kept  on  shipboard  for  some  three  weeks,  passing  through  a 
gale  so  severe  that  the  ship  had  to  u  lie  to,”  and  finally  landed  in  good 
condition  at  Amaknak  Island,  in  the  harbor  of  Unalaska,  having  had 
a  sea  voyage  of  over  1,000  miles. 

Thus  the  results  of  investigations  for  1891  were: 

First.  The  cultivation  of  the  good  will  of  the  Siberians. 

Second.  The  actual  purchase  of  sixteen  head  of  reindeer. 

Third.  That  reindeer  can  be  transported  with  the  same  facility  as 
other  domestic  cattle;  they  being  safely  loaded,  kex>t  on  shipboard  for 
three  weeks,  and  landed  in  good  condition  a  thousand  miles  away. 

Upon  my  return  to  Washington  in  the  fall  of  1891  the  question  was 
again  urged  upon  the  attention  of  Congress,  and  on  the  17th  of  Decem¬ 
ber,  1891,  Hon.  H.  M.  Teller  introduced  a  bill  (S.  1109)  appropriating 
$15,000,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  and  maintaining  in  the  Terri¬ 
tory  of  Alaska  reindeer  for  domestic  purposes.  This  bill  was  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  and  Forestry,  Hon.  Algernon  S.  Pad- 
dock,  chairman.  The  committee  took  favorable  action  and  the  bill  was 
passed  by  the  Senate  on  May  23,  1892.  On  the  following  day  it  was 
reported  to  the  House  of  Representatives  and  referred  to  the  Commit¬ 
tee  on  Appropriations.  A  similar  bill  (H.  R.  7764)  was  introduced  into 
the  House  of  Representatives  by  Hon.  A.  C.  Durborow  and  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Agriculture. 

On  April  15,  Hon.  S.  B.  Alexander,  of  North  Carolina,  reported  the 
bill  to  the  House  of  Representatives  with  the  approval  of  the  Commit¬ 
tee  of  Agriculture  (Appendix  D).  The  bill  was  placed  on  the  calendar. 


10  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.. 

On  the  2d  day  of  May,  1892,  I  started  for  my  third  summer’s  work 
on  the  coast  of  Siberia  and  Arctic  Alaska  in  the  U.  S.  S.  Bear ,  Capt. 
M.  A.  Healy  commanding. 

In  accordance  with  your  instructions,  all  the  time  that  could  be 
spared  from  the  schools  was  given  to  the  establishment  of  the  experi¬ 
mental  reindeer  station. 

Upon  reaching  Unalaska,  May  22,  I  was  much  encouraged  to  learn 
that  the  reindeer  left  last  fall  on  Amaknak  and  Unalaska  Islands  had 
wintered, successfully  and  were  in  good  condition  with  an  increase  of 
two. 

We  reached  Gape  Navarin,  Siberia,  on  the  6th  of  June,  and  proceed¬ 
ing  north  called  at  various  points  on  the  coast.  Our  progress  was 
greatly  hindered  by  heavy  fields  of  ice.  The  good  ship  had  two  an¬ 
chors  ground  up  and  one  of  the  blades  of  the  propeller  broken  off  by 
the  ice.  Upon  several  occasions,  we  were  so  surrounded  that  the  pro¬ 
peller  was  stopped  and  the  ship  moored  to  the  ice.  A  less  stanch 
Vessel  would  have  been  unable  to  stand  the  strain.  However,  during 
the  season,  five  trips  were  made  to  Siberia,  and  175  reindeer  purchased, 
brought  over,  and  landed  at  the  head  of  Point  Clarence,  which  being 
the  nearest  good  harbor  to  Asia  on  the  American  side,  and  a  central 
point  for  the  distribution  of  deer,  I  had  selected,  June  29,  as  the  loca¬ 
tion  of  the  first  reindeer  station. 

The  first  installment  of  deer,  numbering  fifty-three,  was  landed  at  the 
new  station  at  6  o’clock  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  July. 

Mr.  Miner  W.  Bruce,  of  Nebraska,  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
the  station  and  herd,  with  Mr.  Bruce  Gibson,  of  California,  as  his  as¬ 
sistant.  (Appendix  H.) 

Upon  the  establishment  of  the  experimental  reindeer  herd  at  Port 
Clarence,  it  became  important  to  gain  information  concerning  the  sur¬ 
rounding  country. 

To  secure  full  and  reliable  information  with  reference  to  pasturage 
in  the  vicinity  of  Bering  Straits  I  had  the  previous  season  employed 
Mr.  W.  T.  Lapp,  teacher  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  to  make  two  trips 
northward  along  the  coast  in  midwinter  (1891-’92),  when  the  moss  might 
be  expected  to  be  covered  with  ice  and  snow  (see  Appendix  E),  and 
in  the  fall  of  1892  sent  Mr.  Bruce  Gibson,  assistant  superintendent  of 
the  reindeer  station,  with  a  party  of  natives,  to  the  northward  ot‘  Port 
Clarence  ( see  Appendix  F),  and  a  few  weeks  later  Mr.  Miner  W.  Bruce, 
superintendent  of  the  station.  (See  Appendix  G.) 

These  several  reconnoissances  proved  both  the  abundance  of  moss 
and  its  accessibility  for  winter  pasturage  to  the  new  station. 

A  comfortable  house,  20  by  60  feet,  was  erected  as  a  residence  for  the 
superintendent  and  his  assistant,  and  also  for  the  storing  of  the  annual 
supply  of  provisions  and  barter  goods. 

Close  to  the  main  house  two  comfortable  dugouts  were  built  for  the 
use  of  the  herders.  Four  Siberians,  well  acquainted  with  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  reindeer,  were  brought  over  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  herd. 
With  the  Siberians  were  placed  a  few  young  men  from  the  Alaskan 
Eskimo,  who  are  expected  to  learn  the  management  and  care  of  the 
herd.  The  present  expectation  is  to  increase  the  number  of  Alaskan 
boys,  who  shall  become  apprentices  to  the  herders,  and  when  they  have 
sufficiently  learned  the  business  and  proved  their  capability  to  take  care 
of  reindeer,  a  small  herd  will  be  given  each  one  as  his  start  in  life.  As 
from  year  to  year  the  number  of  such  young  men  is  increased  and  a 
number  of  the  natives  become  herders,  the  herds  will  naturally  become 
more  and  more  distributed  throughout  the  country,  until,  eventually, 


Hoisting  in  a  Reindeer  on  Board  the  Bear 

[From  a  photo,  by  Assistant  Engineer  A.  L.  Broadbent,  U.  S.  R.  M.  Published  by  permission  of  The  Californian.] 


Young  Eskimo  Woman. 


House  at  Reindeer  Station,  Port  Clarence,  Alaska 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  11 


that  whole  northern  region  shall  be  covered  with  them,  as  the  similar 
regions  of  Siberia  and  Lapland  are  now  covered.  (Appendix  J.i 

With  the  accomplishment  of  this  result  several  important  objects 
will  be  attained. 

PERMANENT  FOOD  SUPPLY. 

In  the  first  place,  the  population,  which  is  now  upon  the  verge  of 
starvation,  will  be  furnished  with  a  permanent,  regular,  and  abundant 
supply  of  food.  As  has  already  been  stated  the  native  supply  of  food 
in  that  region  has  been  destroyed  by  the  industries  of  the  white  men. 
(Appendix  K.)  The  whale  and  the  walrus  that  once  teemed  in  their 
waters  and  furnished  over  half  their  food  supply,  have  been  killed  or 
driven  off  by  the  persistent  hunting  of  the  whalers.  The  wild  reindeer 
(carribou)  and  fur-bearing  animals  of  the  land,  which  also  furnished 
them  food  and  clothing,  are  largely  being  destroyed  by  the  deadly 
breecli-loading  firearm.  It  will  be  impossible  to  restock  their  waters 
with  whale  and  walrus  in  the  same  way  that  we  restock  rivers  with  a 
fresh  supply  of  fish.  But  what  we  can  not  do  in  the  way  of  giving 
them  their  former  food,  we  can,  through  the  introduction  of  the  domes¬ 
tic  reindeer,  provide  a  new  food  supply. 


Siberian  deermen  brought  to  Alaska  with  the  first  herd. 

[From  a  photo,  by  Dr.  S,  J  Call.  Published  by  permission  of  the  Californian  ! 


Upon  our  return  southward  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  in  the  fall  of  1891, 
Capt.  Healy  providentially  called  at  the  village  on  King  Island, 
where  we  found  the  population  starving.  The  appeal  for  food  was  so 
pressing  that  the  captain  detailed  a  lieutenant  to  make  a  thorough  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  village,  and  invited  me  to  accompany  him.  In  a  few 
houses  we  found  that  the  families  in  their  great  distress  had  killed 
their  sled-dogs  to  keep  themselves  from  starving.  In  the  larger  num¬ 
ber  of  families  they  were  making  a  broth  of  seaweed,  their  only  food 
supply.  In  all  human  probability,  if  the  ship  had  not  learned  their 
condition,  the  following  summer  not  a  man,  woman,  or  child  would  have 
been  left  alive  to  tell  the  story.  A  few  years  ago  the  same  thing  hap¬ 
pened  to  three  large  villages  on  the  Island  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  when,  the 
tollowing  season,  the  revenue  cutter  called  at  the  village,  the'  putrefy¬ 
ing  corpses  of  the  population  were  found  everywhere — on  the  bed  plat- 


12  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


forms,  on  the  floors,  in  the  door  ways,  and  along  the  paths,  wherever 
deatli  overtook  them. 

At  King  Island,  having  ascertained  the  condition  of  things,  a  purse 
was  made  up  from  the  officers  and  a  few  others  on  board  the  ship,  and 
the  captain  steamed  some  two  hundred  miles  to  the  nearest  trading 
post,  and  purchased  all  the  provisions  that  could  be  obtained,  which 
were  taken  back  to  the  starving  village.  This  supply  sustained  the 
population  alive  until  seal  and  walrus  came  some  months  later  around 
the  village.  The  movement  of  the  seal  and  walrus,  since  their  numbers 
have  become  greatly  diminished,  is  so  uncertain  that,  while  a  village 
may  have  plenty  to  eat  one  season  they  will  be  on  the  verge  of  starva¬ 
tion  another. 

In  the  winter  of  1890-’91  there  was  a  sufficiency  of  food  at  Point 
Hope.  In  the  winter  of  1891-’92  the  same  population  had  to  leave 
their  village  and  make  their  way,  in  some  instances  hundreds  of  miles, 
to  other  villages  to  keep  from  starving.  In  1891  oue  of  the  teachers  on 
the  Kuskowin  River  wrote  me  that  the  inhabitants  of  that  valley  had 
had  but  little  opportunity  during  the  summer  of  1890  to  provide  a  suf¬ 
ficient  food  supply  of  fish,  that  consequently  starvation  faced  them  all 
winter,  and  that  it  was  Avith  great  difficulty  that  they  survived  until 
the  fish  returned  the  following  season.  A  teacher  on  the  Yukon  River 
reported  this  past  summer  that  some  ot  the  natives  to  the  north  of  him 
had  starved  to  death.  This  same  scarcity  of  food  exists  across  the  en¬ 
tire  northern  portion  of  North  America,  so  that  now,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Church  of  England,  subscriptions  have  been  opened  in  London 
for  a  famine  fund  out  of  which  to  send  relief  to  the  starving  Eskimo  of 
Arctic  British  America.  This  condition  of  things  will  go  on,  increas¬ 
ing  in  severity  from  year  to  year,  until  the  food  supply  of  the  seas  and 
of  the  land  is  entirely  gone,  and  then  there  is  nothing  left  but  the  exter¬ 
mination  of  the  native  population.  The  general  introduction  of  the 
domestic  reindeer  alone  will  change  this  entire  condition  of  things,  and 
furnish  as  reliable  supply  of  food  to  that  people,  as  the  herds  of  cattle 
in  Texas  and  Wyoming  do  to  their  owners,  or  the  herds  of  sheep  in 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  The  reindeer  is  the  animal  which  God’s 
providence  seems  to  have  provided  for  those  northern  regions,  being 
food,  clothing,  house,  furniture,  implements,  and  transportation  to  the 
people.  Its  milk  and  flesh  furnish  food.  Its  marrow,  tongue,  and  hams 
are  considered  choice  delicacies.  Its  blood,  mixed  with  the  contents  of 
its  stomach,  forms  a  favorite  native  dish.  Its  intestines  are  cleaned, 
filled  with  tallow,  and  eaten  as  sausage.  Its  skin  is  made  into  clothes, 
bedding,  tent  covers,  reindeer  harness,  ropes,  cords,  and  fish  lines. 
The  hard  skin  of  the  fore  legs  make  an  excellent  covering  for  snow- 
shoes.  Its  sinews  are  made  into  a  strong  and  lasting  thread.  Its 
bones  are  soaked  in  seal  oil  and  burned  for  fuel.  Its  horns  are  made 
into  various  kinds  of  household  implements,  into  weapons  for  hunting, 
fishing,  or  Avar,  and  in  the  manufacture  of  sleds.  Then  the  living  an¬ 
imal  is  trained  lor  riding  and  dragging  of  sleds.  The  general  introduffi 
tion  of  such  an  animal  into  that  region  avi’11  arrest  the  present  starva¬ 
tion  and  restock  that  vast  country  with  a  permanent  food  supply.  It 
Avill  revive  hope  in  the  hearts  of  a  sturdy  race  that  is  now  rapidly  pass¬ 
ing  away.  Surely,  the  country  that  sends  shiploads  of  grain  to  starv¬ 
ing  Russians,  that  has  never  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  call  of  distress  in 
any  section  of  the  globe,  will  not  begrudge  a  few  thousand  dollars  for 
the  purchase  and  introduction  of  this  Siberian  reindeer,  and  the  rescue 
of  thousands  of  people  from  starvation. 


A  Sad  Story. 


9 


* 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  13 


REPEOPLING  THE  COUNTRY. 

In  the  second  place  the  introduction  of  domestic  reindeer  into  Alaska 
will  not  only  thus  arrest  the  present  starvation,  but  will  assist  in 
increasing  the  population.  With  a  more  generous  food  supply  this 
population  will  commence  to  increase  in  numbers.  Occupying  a  region 
whose  climatic  conditions  are  so  rigorous  that  but  few  white  men  will 
ever  be  willing  to  make  their  permanent  home  in  it,  it  is  important,  if 
we  would  save  it  from  being  an  unpeopled  waste  and  howling  wilder¬ 
ness,  that  we  build  up  the  people  who  through  generations  have  be¬ 
come  acclimated  and  who  are  as  fervently  attached  to  their  bleak  and 
storm- swept  plains  as  the  people  of  temperate  and  torrid  zones  to  their 
dands  of  comfort  and  abundance. 

They  are  a  race  worth  saving.  I  find  that  public  opinion,  gained 
perhaps  by  a  more  familiar  knowledge  of  the  Eskimo  of  Greenland 
and  Labrador,  conceives  of  the  Alaska  Eskimos  as  of  the  same  small 
type.  But  this  is  not  true. 

In  the  extreme  north,  at  Point  Barrow,  and  along  the  coast  of  Bering 
Sea  they  are  of  medium  size.  At  Point  Barrow  the  average  height  of 
the  males  is  five  feet  three  inches  and  average  weight  153  pounds  5  of 
the  women,  four  feet  eleven  inches  and  weight  135.  On  the  Nushagak 
Biver  the  average  weight  of  the  men  is  from  150  to  167  pounds.  From 
Cape  Prince  of  Wales  to  Icy  Cape  and  on  the  great  inland  rivers 
emptying  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  they  are  a  large  race,  many  of  them 
being  six  feet  and  over  in  height.  At  Kotzebue  Sound  I  have  met  a 
number  of  men  and  women  six  feet  tall.  Physically  they  are  very 
strong,  with  great  powers  of  endurance.  When  on  a  journey,  if  food 
is  scarce,  they  will  travel  thirty  to  forty  miles  without  breaking  their 
fast.  Lieutenant  Cantwell,  in  his  explorations  of  the  Kowak  Biver, 
makes  record  that  upon  one  occasion  when  he  wanted  a  heavy  stone 
for  an  anchor  a  woman  went  out  and  alone  loaded  into  her  birch-bark 
canoe  and  brought  him  a  stone  that  would  weigh  800  pounds.  It  took 
two  strong  men  to  lift  it  out  of  the  canoe. 

Another  explorer  speaks  of  a  woman  carrying  oft  on  her  shoulder  a 
box  of  lead  weighing  280  pounds.  This  summer,  in  erecting  the  school 
buildings  in  the  Arctic,  there  being  no  drays  or  horses  in  that  country, 
all  the  timbers,  lumber,  hardware,  etc.,  had  to  be  carried  from  the  beach 
to  the  site  of  the  house  on  the  shoulders  of  the  people.  They  pride 
themselves  on  their  ability  to  outjump  or  outrun  any  of  our  race  who 
have  competed  with  them.  They  can  lift  a  heavier  weight,  throw  a 
heavy  weight  farther,  and  endure  more  than  we.  They  are  a  strong, 
vigorous  race,  fitted  for  peopling  and  subduing'  the  frozen  regions  of 
their  home. 

Arctic  and  subarctic  Alaska  cover  an  empire  in  extent  equal  to  nearly 
all  Europe.  With  the  covering  of  those  vast  plains  with  herds  of 
domesticated  reindeer  it  will  be  possible  to  support  in  comparative 
comfort  a  population  of  100,000  people  where  now  20,000  people  have  a 
precarious  support.  To  bring  this  about  is  worthy  the  fostering  care 
of  the  General  Government. 

CIVILIZATION  OF  THE  ESKIMOS. 

Thirdly,  the  introduction  of  domestic  reindeer  is  the  commencement 
of  the  elevation  of  this  race  from  barbarism  to  civilization.  A  change 
from  the  condition  of  hunters  to  that  of  herders  is  a  long  step  upwards 
in  the  scale  of  civilization,  teaching  them  to  provide  for  the  future  by 
new  methods. 


14  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 

Probably  no  greater  returns  can  be  found  in  this  country  from 
the  expenditure  of  the  same  amount  of  money  than  in  lifting  up  this 
native  race  out  of  barbarism  by  the  introduction  of  reindeer  and  educa¬ 
tion. 

ARCTIC  TRANSPORTATION. 

Fourthly,  the  introduction  of  the  domestic  reindeer  will  solve  the  , 
question  of  arctic  transportation.  (Appendix  L.)  The  present  trans-  t 
portation  of  that  region  is  by  dog  sleds.  One  load  of  supplies  for  the  , 
trader  or  traveler  requires  a  second  load  of  food  for  the  two  teams  of 
dogs,  and  they  make  but  short  distances  per  day.  This  difficulty  of 
transportation  has  been  one  great  drawback  to  the  development  of  the 
country.  It  has  interfered  with  the  plans  of  the  fur  trader ;  it  bas  in-* 
terfered  with  Government  exploration.  Only  three  years  ago  when  the 
U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  sent  two  parties  to  determine  the 
international  boundary  between  Alaska  and  British  America  the  small 
steamer  that  was  conveying  the  supplies  up  the  Yukon  Biver  was 
wrecked,  and  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the  surveying  par¬ 
ties  were  kept  from  starvation'  because  of  the  difficulty  of  sending  suffi¬ 
cient  food  2,000  miles  along  that  great  valley  by  dog  sleds.  If  reindeer 
had  been  introduced  into  the  country  there  would  have  been  no  such 
difficulty  in  furnishing  food.  Bills  have  been  before  Congress  for  sev¬ 
eral  years  proposing  to  establish  a  military  post  in  the  Yukon  Yalley. 

If  such  a  post  is  established  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  a  combina¬ 
tion  of  circumstances  may  arise  some  winter  by  which  the  forces  that 
shall  be  stationed  there  will  be  reduced  to  starvation  unless  reindeer 
transportation  shall  have  become  so  systematized  that  food  can  readily 
be  sent  in  from  other  regions.  The  same  is  true  with  reference  to 
the  Government  officials  whom  it  may  be  found  necessary  to  station  in 
that  region. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  forty  or  more  missionaries  and  their  families 
that  are  now  scattered  through  that  vast  region;  also,  of  the  teachers 
and  their  families  whom  the  Government  has  sent  into  that  country. 

These  are  now  separated  from  all  communication  with  the  outside 
world,  receiving  their  mail  but  once  a  year.  With  reindeer  transporta¬ 
tion  they  could  have  a  monthly  mail. 

During  the  jjast  three  years  the  whalers  have  been  extending  their 
voyages  east  of  Point  Barrow  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  Biver, 
and  wintering  at  Herschel  Island.  To  the  owners  of  this  property  it 
would  be  worth  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  if  they  could  hear  from 
their  vessels  in  the  winter  before  new  supplies  and  additional  vessels 
are  sent  out  in  the  spring.  But  this  can  not  now  be  done.  Last  winter 
letters  were  sent  out  from  the  field,  overland,  by  Indian  runners  that  as¬ 
cended  the  Mackenzie,  crossed  over  to  the  Porcupine,  and  descended  the 
Porcupine  and  Yukon  rivers  down  to  St.  Michael,  on  the  coast.  It  was 
ten  months  before  those  letters  reach  ed  their  d  estin  ation.  It  was  a  great 
satisfaction  to  the  owners  to  hear  of  the  welfare  of  their  ships  and 
crews,  but  the  news  was  too  late  for  business  purposes.  Millions  of 
dollars’  worth  of  property  and  thousands  of  lives  are  involved  in  the 
whaling  business.  With  the  introduction  of  domestic  reindeer  into 
that  region  it  will  be  both  feasible  and  perfectly  practicable  to  establish 
a  reindeer  express  during  the  winter  from  the  Arctic  coast  down  to  the 
North  Pacific  coast  of  Alaska. 

The  southern  coast  of  Alaska  on  the  Pacific  Ocean  never  freezes,  and 
is  accessible  all  the  year  around  to  vessels  from  San  Francisco  or  Puget 
Sound. 


ipn’C- 


Reindeer 


in  Harness. 


Reindeer  under  Saddle 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  15 


A  reindeer  express  across  Alaska,  from  the  Arctic  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  would  have  a  corresponding  commercial  value  to  that  section  as 
the  telegraph  between  New  York  and  London  to  theirs.  It  would  en¬ 
able  the  owners  of  the  whaling  fleet  to  avail  themselves  of  the  latest 
commercial  news  and  keep  a  more  perfect  control  over  their  business. 


COMMERCIAL  VALUE. 


In  the  sixth  place,  the  introduction  of  domesticated  reindeer  will 
add  a  new  industry  to  that  country,  which  will  go  to  swell  the  aggre¬ 
gate' of  national  wealth.  Lapland  sends  to  market  about  22,000  head  of 
reindeer  a  year,  the  surplus  of  her  herds. 

Through  Norway  and  Sweden  smoked  reindeer  meat  and  smoked 
reindeer  tongues  are  everywhere  found  for  sale  in  their  markets,  the 
hams  being  worth  10  cents  a  pound  and  the  tongues  10  cents  a  piece. 
There  are  wealthy  merchants  in  Stockholm  whose  specialty  and  entire 
trade  is  in  these  Lapland  products.  The  reindeer  skins  are  marketed 
all  over  Europe,  being  worth  in  their  raw  condition  from  $1.50  to  $1.75 
apiece.  The  tanned  skins  (soft,  with  a  beautiful  yellow  color)  find  a 
ready  sale  in  Sweden,  at  from  $2  to  $2.75  each.  Reindeer  skins  are 
used  for  gloves,  military  riding  trousers,  and  the  binding  of  books. 
Reindeer  hair  is  in  great  demand  for  the  filling  of  life-saving  appa¬ 
ratuses,  buoys,  etc.,  and  from  the  reindeer  horns  is  made  the  best  ex¬ 
isting  glue.  One  great  article,  smoked  reindeer  tongues,  and  tanned 
skins  are  among  the  principal  products  of  the  great  annual  fair  at 
Nischnij  Novgorod,  Russia.  In  Lapland  there  are  about  400,000  head 
of  reindeer,  sustaining  in  comfort  some  26,000  people.  There  is  no 
reason,  considering  the  greater  area  of  the  country  and  the  abundance 
of  reindeer  moss,  why  arctic  and  subarctic  Alaska  should  not  sustain 
a  population  of  100,000  people  with  2,000,000  head  of  reindeer.  In  Lap- 
land  the  reindeer  return  a  tax  of  $1  a  head  to  the  Government,  so  that 
they  yield  an  annual  revenue  to  the  Government  of  $400,000. 

With  the  destruction  of  the  buffalo  the  material  for  cheap  carriage 
and  sleigh  robes  for  common  use  is  gone.  Bear  and  wolf  skins  are  too 
expensive;  but  with  the  introduction  of  the  reindeer  their  skins  would 
to  a  certain  extent  take  the  place  of  the  extinct  buffalo. 

The  commercial  importance  of  introducing  domesticated  reindeer  in 
Alaska  was  so  manifest  that  shrewd  business  men  on  the  Pacific  coast 
at  once  appreciated  the  great  possibilities  involved,  and  hastened, 
through  their  chandlers  of  commerce  and  boards  of  trade,  to  take  action 
urging  their  several  delegations  in  Congress  to  do  what  they  could  to 
secure  an  appropriation  of  money  for  these  purposes.  (Appendix  N.) 

Under  favorable  circumstances  a  swift  reindeer  can  traverse  150  miles 
in  a  day.  A  speed  of  100  miles  per  day  is  easily  made.  As  a  beast  of 
burden  they  can  draw  a  load  of  300  pounds. 

The  progress  of  exploration,  settlement,  development,  government, 
civilization,  education,  humanity  and  religion,  are  all  largely  dependent 
in  that  region  on  reindeer  transportation. 

If  there  is  any  measure  of  public  policy  better  established  than 
another  or  more  frequently  acted  upon,  it  has  been  the  earnest  and 
unceasing  efforts  of  Congress  to  encourage  and  aid  in  every  way  the 
improvement  of  stock,  and  the  markets  of  the  world  have  been  searched 
for  improved  breeds.  The  same  wise  and  liberal  policy  will  make  ample 
provision  for  the  introduction  of  the  reindeer,  which  of  all  animals  is  the 
most  serviceable  and  indispensable  to  man  in  high  northern  latitudes. 

If  it  is  sound  public  policy  to  sink  artesian  wells  or  create  large  water 


16  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 

reservoirs  for  reclaiming  large  areas  of  valuable  laud  otherwise  worth¬ 
less;  if  it  is  the  part  of  national  wisdom  to  introduce  large,  permanent, 
and  wealth-producing  industries  where  none  previously  existed,  then  it 
is  the  part  of  national  wisdom  to  cover  that  vast  empire  with  herds  of 
domestic  reindeer,  the  only  industry  that  can  live  and  thrive  in  that 
region,  and  take  a  barbarian  people  on  the  verge  of  starvation,  lift 
them  up  to  a  comfortable  support  and  civilization,  and  turn  them  from 
consumers  into  producers  of  national  wealth. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  sum  asked  from  Congress  is  only  $15,000. 

I  hope  that  this  will  not  be  misunderstood  and  taken  as  a  measure  of 
the  importance  of  the  movement,  for  if  the  proposed  results  could  not 
be  obtained  with  any  less  sum  an  appropriation  of  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands  of  dollars  would  be  both  wise  and  economical. 

But  so  small  a  sum  is  accepted  on  the  ground  of  proceeding  with  , 
extreme  caution.  It  is  the  commencement  of  a  great  movement  that 
will,  if  successful,  extenjl  its  beneficial  influences  as  long  as  the  world 
stands.  Therefore  we  move  slowly  and  carefully  at  first  in  order  to 
secure  that  success.  Commencing  in  a  small  way,  the  first  outlay  of 
money  is  not  large. 

In  1891  the  sixteen  reindeer  purchased  average  $10.25  each.  This 
last  season  the  general  average  was  brought  down  to  $5  each. 


Superstitious  ceremony  connected  with  killing  or  selling  reindeer  in  Siberia. 


So  far  the  purchase  of  the  reindeer  has  been  defrayed  from  the  money 
contributed  by  benevolent  individuals. 

REVENUE  MARINE  SERVICE. 

These  gratifying  results,  however,  could  not  have  been  attained  with¬ 
out  the  hearty  and  active  cooperation  of  the  Revenue-Marine  Service. 

If  this  office  had  been  required  to  charter  a  vessel  for  the  transport¬ 
ing  of  the  reindeer  nothing  could  have  been  done  with  the  small  sum 
at  our  disposal. 

But  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  directed  that  the  revenue  cutter 
Bear ,  in  addition  to  her  regular  duties  of  patrolling  the  Seal  Islands  and 
the  coasts  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  following  the  whaling 
fleet  and  inspecting  the  Refuge  Station  at  Point  Barrow,  should  also 
give  what  time  was  possible  to  transporting  the  reindeer. 

To  the  captain,  officers,  and  crew  of  the  Bear  is  due  much  praise  for 
the  hard  work  done  by  them. 

Special  thanks  are  due  Capt.  M.  A.  Healy  for  his  earnestness  and 
efficiency  in  doing  his  part  of  the  work;  also  to  Lieut.  D.  H.  Jarvis, 
Surgeon  S.  J.  Call,  and  Assistant  Engineer  Falkenstein,  who  were  in 
charge  of  much  of  the  shore  work  of  loading  and  unloading  the  deer. 


&3SK— ^ 


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By  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey 


To  accompany  Reindjer.r  Report  by  Sheldon  Jackson  ,  D  D. 
U.  S •  General  Agent  of  Education. 


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INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


17 


I  have  the  honor  of  inclosing  an  excellent  map,  prepared  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  also  several  illustra¬ 
tions  kindly  loaned  by  The  Californian,  Scribner’s,  and  Harper’s. 

Also  a  few  other  photographs  taken  by  Surg.  Call  and  Assistant 
Engineer  Broadbent,  of  the  Bear. 

The  map  and  illustrations  will  greatly  add  to  the  interest  of  the 
report. 

Hoping  that  Congress  will  provide  the  funds  necessary  for  a  further 
prosecution  of  the  work,  I  remain,  with  great  respect, 

Yours,  truly, 

SHELDON  JACKSON, 
General  Agent  of  Education  in  Alaslca . 

Hon.  W.  T.  Harris, 

Commissioner  of  Education, 


S.  Mis.  22- 


i 


18 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


Appendix  A. 


[House  Report  No.  3414,  Fifty-first  Congress,  second  session.] 

Mr.  McComas,  from  the  Committee  on  Education,  submitted  the  following  re¬ 
port  (to  accompany  H.  Res.  258) : 

The  Committee  on  Education  reports  favorably  House  joint  resolution  258,  with 
sundry  amendments  recommended  by  the  committee. 

Congress  has  passsd  several  acts  encouraging  the  establishment^  agricultural 
schools  and  experiment  stations  in  the  different  States  and  Territories. 

These  several  acts  re  juire  the  assent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States 
and  Territories  before  their  provisions  become  available;  but  as  Alaska  has  no 
legislature,  it  is  the  only  Territory  which  is  unable  to  avail  itself  of  the  benefits 
and  provisions  of  these  acts. 

This  bill  proposes  to  extend  to  Alaska  the  benefits  and  provisions  of  the  agri¬ 
cultural  acts  through  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in  like  manner  to  the  other 
Territories.  The  acts  are  recited  in  the  preamble  to  the  joint  resolution. 

There  has  been  very  wide  divergence  of  views  with  regard  to  the  agricultural 
and  horticultural  capabilities  of  Alaska,  or  whether  it  has  any  agricultural  capa¬ 
bilities  at  all. 

This  bill  would  secure  the  establishment  of  an  experimental  station  in  south¬ 
ern  Alaska,  which  has  a  temperate  climate,  and  test  the  question  of  what  can 
and  what  can  not  be  raised  to  advantage. 

This  would  be  of  very  great  service,  both  to  the  natives,  who,  through  the  Gov¬ 
ernment  schools,  are  coming  into-our  civilization,  and  to  the  white  settlers  who 
may  locate  in  that  vast  region,  which  embraces  about  580,000  square  miles. 

There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  square  miles  of  area  within  the  Arctic  re¬ 
gions  of  Alaska  that,  there  is  no  question,  can  never  be  adapted  to  ordinary  ag¬ 
ricultural  pursuits,  nor  utilized  for  purposes  of  raising  cattle,  horses,  or  sheep; 
but  this  large  area  is  especially  adapted  for  the  support  of  reindeer. 

This  bill  will  enable  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  through  the  Government 
industrial  schools,  to  make  the  stock-raising  of  reindeer  the  great  industrial 
feature  of  that  region. 

This  will  utilize  hundreds  of  thousands  of  square  miles  of  territory,  will  build 
up  a  large  and  profitable  industry,  and  above  all,  will  provide  a  comfortable  sup¬ 
port  for  the  native  population  of  that  region. 

This  is  the  more  important  at  the  present  time,  because  the  American  whalers 
have  practically  destroyed  and  driven  out  the  whale  and  the  walrus  from  the 
waters  adjacent  to  the  coast  of  Alaska. 

The  destruction  of  the  whale  and  walrus  has  taken  away  three-fourths  of  the 
ordinary  food  supply  of  the  Eskimo  population,  and  that  population  to-day  on 
the  Arctic  coast  of  Alaska  is  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  The  large  canneries  will 
soon  take  away  the  fish  supply. 

The  introduction  of  tame  reindeer  from  Siberia  into  Alaska  thus  has  a  two¬ 
fold  importance : 

(1)  As  the  establishment  of  a  profitable  industry. 

(2)  Asa  relief  of  a  starving  people,  a  relief  that  will  become  more  and  more 
valuable  as  the  years  roll  round,  a  relief  that  once  established  perpetuates  it¬ 
self. 

This  project  is  wiser  than  to  pauperize  the  people  of  Alaska. 

The  revenue  from  that  country  warrants  this  attempt  to  make  these  people 
self-sustaining. 

The  lease  of  the  Seal  Islands  by  the  United  States  Treasury  Department  to  the 
North  American  Commercial  Company,  on  the  basis  of  100,000  skins,  ought  to 
yield  a  revenue  of  about  $1,000,000  annually.  Under  the  old  lease  the  revenue- 
was  $317,500  annually. 

The  extending  to  Alaska  of  the  benefits  of  the  agricultural  bill  approved  Aug¬ 
ust  30,  1890,  would  give  for  the  year  ending  June — 


1890 

1891 

1892 


$15,  000 
16,  000 
17,000 


48, 000 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  19 


From  the  act  establishing’  agricultural  experiment  stations  approved  July  2, 
1862,  the  sum  of  $15,000. 

The  joint  resolution  would  therefore  carry  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1892, 
$93,000,  and  for  the  following  year,  $3.‘f,000. 

The  committee  report  therefore  this  joint  resolution  with  the  following  amend¬ 
ments  and  recommend  that  it  pass. 

.  In  line  4,  page  2,  after  the  word  “  to,”  insert  “give  any  assent  required  by 
either  of  said  acts,  and  to.” 

In  line  4,  page  2,  after  the  word  “  benefits,”  insert  “  and  provisions.” 

In  line  6,  page  2,  after  “  Territory,”  insert  “of  Alaska.” 

In  line  7,  page  2,  after  the  word  “  acts,”  add  “  in  like  manner  as  for  any  other 
Territory.” 


Appendix  B. 

LIST  OF  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  REINDEER  FUND ,  1891. 


1891. 

May  15.  Miss  H.  S.  Benson,  Philadelphia _ $200.  00 

John  N.  Brown,  Providence,  R.  I _  200.00* 

Jane  N.  Grew,  Boston _  30.  00 

Mary  P.  Gardner,  New  York _  _ _  10.  50 

Sarah  B.  Reynolds,  Kingston,  N.  Y _ _  10.  00 

Mrs.  H.  B.  Otis,  Roxbury,  Mass _  10.  00 

M.  A.  &  S.  H.  Foster,  Portsmouth  N.  II _  10.00 

June  10.  Boston  Transcript  from  various  persons _  289.  00 

E.  G.  Read,  Somerville,  N.  J_ _ _ _ _ 1 _  10.00 

Elt'e  V.  V.  Knox,  New  York _  10.  00 

Mrs.  N.  Williamson.  Brunswick,  N.  J _ _  10.00 

E.  E.  B.,  140  Lanvale  street,  Baltimore,  Md _  1.00 

Helen  B.  French,  Beloit,  Wis _  10.  00 

Mary  Ellen  Smith,  Philadelphia,  Pa _  10.  00 

Judge  E.  R.  Hoar,  Concord,  Mass _  10.  00 

C.  H.  Barstow,  Crow  Agency,  Mont _  15.00 

M.  E.  D.,  per  Boston  Transcript _ _ _  1.00 

A.  F.  Allyn,  Chelsea,  Mass _ _ _ _ _  1.00 

R.  P.  Wainwright,  Asheville,  N.  C _ _  _  10.00 

M.  A.  Haven  and  Annie  W.  Davis,  Portsmouth,  N.  H _  10.00 

Mary  Hemingway,  Boston,  Mass _ _  100.  00 

The  Mail  and  Express _ r _ _ _  500.  00 

Mrs.  William  Thaw _ . _  50.  00 

Five  children  in  one  family,  one  reindeer  each _  50.  00 

Mrs.  F.  L.  Achey _  20.  00 

M.  E.  P _  50.  00 

The  young  ladies  of  Rye  Seminary,  Rye,  N.  Y _  50.  00 

Mary  L.  Parsons _ _  20.  00 

Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.,  Reformed  Church,  Mount  Vernon _  13.  65 

Three  ladies  of  East  Orange,  N.  J _  12.  00 

G.  K.  Harroun _ _ _  10.  00 

H.  G.  Ludlow _  10.  00 

Mrs.  H.  G.  Ludlow _  10.  00 

Mrs.  R.  C.  Crane - -  10.  00 

Mrs.  Edwin  G.  Benedict _  10.  00 

Mrs.  M.  C.  Cobb _ _ --, _  10.  00 

E.  M.  Chadwick _ : -  10.00 

Augusta  Moore _ 10.00 

Rev.  Wm.  T.  Doubleday _ _  10.  00 

E.  M.  Eames - - - -  10.00 

Chas.  H.  Wells...- _  10.  (9 

A.  R.  Slingushard _  10.00 

James  M.  Ham _ ’ -  10.00 

Mrs.  James  M.  Ham _  10.  00 

Mrs.  Robert  I.  Brown -  - - -  10.  00 

William  Rust _  10.  00 

Mrs.  Levi  S.  Gates  _ _ _ _ — .  10. 00 


20  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


List  of  contributions  to  the  Reindeer  fund,  1891 — Continued. 

1891. 

June  10.  Bethlehem  Chapel  Mission  School _ 1 -  $10.00 

Mrs,  Richard  L.  Allen - - -  10.00 

Miss  M.  I.  Allen. _ 10.00 

E.  Holman.. _ _ 10.00 

C.  and  family,  East  Orange,  N.  J  — - .. - - - —  10.  00 

J.  Van  Sant  wood _  5.00 

James  F.  E.  Little _ 5.00 

Frederick  W.  Stoneback - - -  5.  00 

J.  FI.  Charles _ 5.00 

V.  Thompson _  5.00 

W.  T.  Bliss _  5.  00' 

Howard  Wilson _  5.  00 

G.  H.  Fleming _ * - - - -  5.00 

W.  S.  Quigley _ 5.00 

J.  Lantz _ 5.00 

From  friends _ _  2.  60 

Mrs.  L.  E.  Hastings _  1.20 

A.  E.  Barnes _ _ _  1.00 

Amelia  J.  Burt _  1.  00 

W.  A.  Deering _ 5.00 

L.  F.  Golding _  5.00 

J.  A.  Hennessy _  5.00 

R.  H.  Stoddard _  5.00 

William  R.  Worrall _  5.  00 

H.  W.  Dourmett _  5.  05 

Betty  Deming  (a  child) _  10.  00 

John  Deming  (a  child) _ _ _  10.  00 

Anonymous _ _ _  10.  00 

Little  Lights  Society _ _ ^ _  5.00 

Mrs.  Edmund  T.  Lukens _  5.00 

W.  S _  5.00 

Cuttenden  Hull,  A _  10.00 

Mrs.  Clinton  B.  Fisk _  10.  00 

W.  U.  A _ 20.00 

Thomas  Harrington _ _ _  10.  00 

E _ 10.00 

June  18.  Mrs.  Debbie  H.  Parker,  Charlottesville,  Ind _  5.00 

Gen.  E.  E.  Whittlesey,  Washington,  D.  C  _ _  10.  00 

1892. 

Feb.  1.  Miss  Mary  Burroughs,  Philadelphia,  Pa _  5.00 

11.  A.  D.  Simpson,  Christiansburg,  Va _ 10.00 


Total _ _ _  2,146.00 


New  York. 


Appendix  C. 

TENT  LIFE  IN  SIBERIA. 

By  George  Kennan. 

\ 

[Published  by  George  P.  Putnam’s  Sons.  1870.  Page  116.] 

•Among  the  many  superstitions  of  the  Wandering  Koraks  and  Chookchees  one 
of  the  most  noticeable  is  their  reluctance  to  paid  with  a  living  reindeer.  You 
may  purchase  as  many  dead  deer  as  you  choose,  up  to  500,  for  about  70  cents 
apiece;  but  a  living  deer  they  will  not  give  to  you  for  love  nor  money.  You 
may  offer  them  what  they  consider  a  fortune  in  "tobacco,  copper  kettles,  beads, 
and  scarlet  cloth  for  a  single  live  reindeer,  but  they  will  persistently  refuse  to 
sell  him.  Yet,  if  you  will  allow  them  to  kill  the  very  same' animal,  you  can  have 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA,  21 


his  carcass  for  one  small  string-  of  common  g-lass  beads.  It  is  useless  to  argue 
with  them  about  this  absurd  superstition.  You  can  get  no  reason  for  it  or  ex¬ 
planation  of  it,  except  that  to  sell  a  live  reindeer  would  be  ‘'atkin”  (bad).  As 
it  was  very  necessary  in  the  construction  of  our  proposed  telegraph  line  to  have 
trained  reindeer  of  our  own  we  offered  every  conceivable  inducement  to  the  Ko- 
raks  to  part  with  one  single  deer  ;  but  all  our  efforts  were  in  vain.  They  could 
sell  us  100  dead  deer  for  100  pounds  of  tobacco,  but  500  pounds  would  nor,  tempt 
them  to  part  with  a  single  animal  as  long  as  the  breath  of  life  was  in  his  body. 
During  the  two  years  and  a  half  which  we  spent  in  Siberia  no  one  of  our  parties, 
so  far  as  I  know,  ever  succeeded  in  buying  from  the  Koraks  or  Chookchees  a 
single  living  reindeer. 


Appendix  D. 

DOMESTICATED  BE  IN  DEER  IN  ALASKA. 

v  [House  Report  No.  1093,  Fifty-seQond  Congress,  first  session.] 

Mr.  Alexander,  from  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  submitted  the  following 
report : 

The  Committee  on  Agriculture,  to  whom  was  referred  the  bill  (H.  R.  7764)  to 
secure  the  introduction  of  domesticated  reindeer  into  Alaska,  report  the  same 
with  a  favorable  recommendation.  This  bill  does  not  properly  come  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  but  should  have  been  considered 
by  the  Committee  on  Appropriations.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Appropriations  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  having  heard 
the  testimony  of  the  missionaries  from  Alaska,  the  Commissioner  of  Education, 
and  others  in  regard  to  the  merits  of  the  bill,  have  considered  it  and  recommend 
its  passage. 

The  testimony  showed  that  there  are  no  reindeer  in  Alaska;  that  Alaska  could 
support  many  times  enough  reindeer  to  furnish  the  inhabitants  with  food  and 
clothing,  and  that  the  reindeer  skins  are  indispensable  for  clothing;  that  the 
whale  and  walrus,  the  principal  supply  of  food,  have  been  destroyed  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  cause  much  suffering  for  food;  that  dogs  are  used  for  transporta¬ 
tion,  and  in  many  places  the  supply  of  food  is  becoming  so  scarce  that  the  na¬ 
tives  are  compelled  to  eat  their  dogs,  thus  depriving  them  of  the  means  of  haul¬ 
ing  their  supplies ;  that  for  the  development  of  the  country  the  domesticated 
reindeer  is  absolutely  indispensable;  that  the  domesticated  reindeer  can  make  a 
speed  of  19  miles  an  hour,  and  that  a  fair  average  rate  of  speed  is  12  miles  per 
hour ;  and  this  means  of  transportation  is  necessary  to  develop  the  gold  fields  of 
the  interior,  which  can  only  be  worked  from  two  to  two  and  one-half  months  a 
year  ;  that  the  reindeer  would' be  distributed  at  the  Government  schools,  the  na¬ 
tive  youths  taught  to  herd  and  raise  them,  the  increase  to  be  given  to  worthy 
students  and  native  teachers  for  services  rendered  ;  that  this  will  induce  the  na¬ 
tives  to  become  herders,  be  self-supporting,  and  not  a  charge  upon  the  Govern¬ 
ment;  that  the  natives  have  no  vessels  that  can  transport  the  live  reindeer  from 
Siberia  to  Alaska;  that  the  vessels  from  San  Francisco  to  Alaska  leave  the  1st 
of  May  to  the  1st  of  June,  none  later  than  the  last  date  mentioned,  and  that  if 
anything  be  done  this  year  it  is  absolutely  nece.  sary  to  get  the  appropriation  in 
time  to  send  the  goods  for  the  purchase  of  the  reindeer  by  the  revenue  cutter 
that  leaves  San  Francisco  the  1st  of  June. 

The  description  given  by  the  missionaries  and  others  of  the  country,  the  hab¬ 
its  of  the  natives,  etc’.,  was  int  resting.  The  distress  caused  by  the  continued 
failure  of  the  food  supply  shows  plainly  that  the  natives  will  not  be  able  to  sus¬ 
tain  themselves,  and  will  become  a  charge  upon  the  Government.  For  these 
and  other  reasons  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  urge  the  passage  of  this  bill. 


22  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


Appendix  E. 

MR.  W.  T.  LOPP\ S'  BE  CO  N  N  O  IS  SANCE  ALONG  TIIE  COAST  NOBTH 

OF  BE  BING  STRAITS. 


Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  Alaska, 

January  20, 1892. 


Dear  Sir:  According-  to  your  instructions,  I  have  made  two  expeditions  up 
the  coast  north  of  here,  and  submit  you  the  following  report: 

In  November  employed  Eskimo,  dogs,  and  sled,  and  explored  west  shore  of 
Louge  Inlet  or  Lake,  just  north  of  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  up  to;its  head,  where 
Grouse  River  empties  into  it.  The  mountains  (see  chart  inclosed)  were  sloping 
and  rolling,  not  sharp  and  rocky,  and  covered  with  moss.  Portions  of  these 
hills  were  covered  with  3  to  5 inches  of  snow,  but  all  the  exposed  portions  were 
free  from  any  snow.  This  inlet  is  about  30  miles  long  and  has  two  outlets  to  the 
sea.  Along  the  hanks  of  Grouse  River  are  acres  of  bushes  (3  to 6 feet.),  hundreds 
of  ptarmigan,  and  nice-sized  fish  in  the  river. 

On  December  27  started  with  boy, 'dogs,  and  sled  for  Ke-gik-tok.  Had  fine 
weather — short  days — visited  about  300  people.  Some  settlements  had  plenty 
of  oil,  seal  meat,  and  fish,  and  others  had  little  or  none.  All  were  very  anxious 
to  have  deer  introduced.  Most  of  them  seem  to  doubt  that  ownership  would 
ever  pass  into  their  hands.  They  complain  that  they  have  to  pay  exorbitant 
prices  to  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  chiefs  for  deer  skins.  They  reported  moss  very 
plentiful.  At  that  time  there  was  so  little  snow  that  it  would  be  unneces¬ 
sary  to  graze  deer  on  the  mountain  side.  I  could  see  that  the  smooth  ex¬ 
panse  of  country  from  coast  to  mountain  was  covered  with  only  3  or  4  inches  of 
soft  snow,  no  crusts  or  ice.  (Unlike  last  winter,  there  have  been  no  thaws  this 
winter,  consequently  no  ice  crust  on  snow.).  These  coast  people  live  on  seal 
meat,  oil,  fish,  ptarmigan,  and  squirrel.  They  are  not  a  trading  people,  have 
had  little  or  no  intercourse  with  ships  ;  are  honest,  industrious,  and  healthy. 

Found  a  very  prosperous  settlementat  Ke-gik-tok  of  eighty  people.  Asked  me 
to  bring  the  school  up  there,  etc. 

I  think  several  hundred  deer  could  be  grazed  along  the  hills  from  Cape  Prince 
of  Wales  to  Ke-gik-tok.  I  am  satisfied  from  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  that 
there  are  hundreds  of  acres  of  good  grazing  land  extending*  from  the  coast  back 
to  rivers  flowing  into  lakes  back  of  Port  Clarence  and  those  flowing  into  Kotze¬ 
bue  Sound.  Settlements  are  so  distributed  along  the  coast  from  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales  to  Kotzebue  Sound  that  deer-men  along  the  mountains  could  easily  he 
supplied  with  seal  oil  and  meat.  And  if  inclosures  are  ever  necessary  there  are 
plenty  of  bushes  in  small  rivers  to  make  them.  1  think  these  coast  people  are 
better  situated  and  adapted  for  herding  than  any  other  Alaskan  people. 

They  are  all  superstitious  and  are  great  cowards  after  dark.  Perhaps  it  will 
be  necessary  to  have  them  stand  watch  at  night  in  pairs  until  they  become  ac¬ 
customed  to  the  darkness.  (One  Eskimo  never  goes  any  place  after  dark  if  he 
can  help  it.  He  see  ghosts;  but  is  all  right  with  a  companion.) 

Hoping  and  trusting  that  we  may  sometime  have  occasion  to  make  use  of 
knowledge  obtained  on  these  two  little  expeditions,  I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 


W.  T.  Lopp. 


Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson, 

Washington,  I).  C. 


Appendix  F. 

BECONNOISSANCE  NORTH  OF  PORT  CLARENCE  BY  BRUCE 

GIBSON. 


Reindeer  Station,  Port  Clarence,  Alaska, 

August  2,  1892. 

Sir  :  I  respectfully  submit  herewith  report  of  expedition  made  by  Mr.  Gibson 
into  interior,  north  of  station,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  probable  condition 
of  grazing  for  reindeer  during  winter  months — copied  from  his  notes,  as  follows: 

I  started  oh  expedition  July  27,  leaving  station  at  12  o’clock,  noon  ;  taking 
with  me  as  guide  Charley,  as  expert  on  pasturage,  Chief  Herder  Pungen,  and 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  23 


five  natives  to  pack  tent  and  supplies.  Traveled  in  a  northwesterly  direction) 
and  for  about!  miles  found  good  feed  and  several  small  lakes.  I  then  changed 
my  course  to  north  for  about  three-quart. rs  of  a  mile  and  found  scarcely  any 
feed,  it  being  very  rocky  and  bairen  ;  I  then  went  west  again  for  7  miles  and 
camped  at  a  river  about  .‘10  feet  wide.  The  first  quarter  of  a  mile  of  this  last 
course  was  very  rocky,  boulders  from  4  to  6  feet  through  being  plentiful ;  the 
remainder  of  the  distance  being  good  feeding-grounds. 

“  The  next  day  started  north  and  traveled  in  that  direction  for  about  9  miles 
and  found  good  pasturage  on  east  side  most  of  the  way,  and  wild  flowers  and 
berries  grew  in  places;  the  west  side  of  river  is  barren  and  very  perpendicular 
in  several  places.  I  then  traveled  to  west  and  for  a  short  distance  on  a  small 
river  found  some  feed,  but  after  traveling  for  1  mile  I  retraced  my  steps  and 
went  to  northeast  for  about  3  miles ;  when  men  began  to  complain  of  being  tired 
and  I  ordered  a  halt  for  the  night  on  a  small  stream  running  toward  the  east. 
To  northeast  I  saw  good  indications  of  feed. 

‘‘The  next  morning  I  got  an  early  start,  taking  with  me  the  guide  and  herder 
and  leaving  the  others  behind  to  try  and  find  a  place  to  camp  that  night,  hav¬ 
ing  to  go  without  fire  the  previous  night  and  this  morning.  I  crossed  the  small 
river  and  traveled  north;  for  the  first  2  miles  there  was  but  a  small  quantity ■ 
of  feed,  having  passed  over  some  very  rocky  ground.  The  next  34  miles  there 
is  good  pasturage,  being  plenty  of  grass  and  considerable  moss.  I  crossed  two 
small  streams  in  this  course.  Traveled  east  to  get  around  some  large  hills  ;  at 
about  one-half  mile  came  to  a  large  mound  of  slaty  rock — mound  about  30  feet 
high  and  150  feet  across.  For  1  mile  east  found  good  pasture ;  crossed  a  small 
stream  running  southeast.  Changed  to  north  and  fori  mile  found  good  grazing 
ground  ;  halted  at  a  large  cluster  of  rock  for  lunch  and  shelter  from  rain  ;  found 
a  white  surface  on  one  of  the  rocks,  and  I  made  the  following  inscription  : 

“  ‘  B.  Gibson,  July  29, 1892,  12  m.,from  Reindeer  Station.’  Resumed  march  to 
north  and  for  2  miles  found  good  pasturage ;  crossed  a  small  stream  running  to 
south.  About  1  mile  south  is  a  lake.  Changed  course  to  east  for  3  miles, 
crossed  one  stream,  and  found  good  feed  in  abundance.  The  land  was  of  a  rocky 
nature.  Started  to  return  to  camp  and  traveled  southwest  for  7  miles  to  where 
.1  gave  orders  for  camp  to  be  located,  but  found  they  had  gone  farther  east.  I 
crossed  over  good  feeding  ground  of  a  boggy  nature,  similar  to  that  surrounding 
station.  The  herder  said  it  was  the  best  seen  since  starting  on  expedition  ;  it 
was  mostly  lowland  and  some  low  rock  hills.  I  found  the  camp  2  miles  east  of 
where  I  expected  it  to  be. 

“The  fourth  day  I  started  east  and  traveled  for  4  miles  over  low  hills,  the 
surface  being  of  a  broken  nature  and  containing  abundance  of  feed;  coming  to 
high  hills,  changed  course  to  southeast  for  2|  miles,  finding  fair  pasturage  and 
ground  slightly  rocky.  Sent  packers  on  to  river  to  find  suitable  camping  grounds 
for  night.  I  traveled  5  miles  to  northeast,  finding  good  pasturage  of  a  boggy 
nature  ;  crossed  one  small  stream.  Changed  to  southeast  1  mile  and  south  1  mile, 
finding  good  pasturage  on  low  hills :  changed  to  southwest  over  low,  hilly,  and 
rocky  land  in  some  places  slightly  boggy ;  the  feed  on  this  last  course  was 
abundant  and  of  a  good  quality. 

“  Fifth  day. — It  stormed  hard  last  night  and  blew  the  tent  down  about  3  o'clock. 

I  broke  camp  about  7  o'clock  and  started  for  the  station,  taking  a  southwest 
course.  After  traveling  for  about  5  miles  I  crossed  a  small  stream  running  very 
rapidly  toward  the  northeast.  The  land  was  low  hills  and  furnished  abundance 
of  feed.  I  traveled  2  miles  farther  in  same  direction  and  crossed  a  large  stream 
with  swift  current  and  running  northeast ;  the  feed  and  land  the  same  as  passed 
earlier  in  the  day.  Continuing  in  same  direction,  but  a  little  more  to  west  for 
4  miles  I  traveled  over  low  hills  ;  good  pasturage  and  plenty  of  moss.  I  crossed 
large  hill  to  north  of  station  ;  found  it  barren  and  very  high  and  rocky.  It  is 
about  1  mile  from  bottom  of  hill  to  open  land,  and  from  there  on  to  station  is 
good  grazing  land.  I  arrived  at  station  at  4:15  in  the  afternoon.  It  had  stormed 
hard  from  the  time  I  left  until  my  return,  raining  and  blowing  hard. 

“  In  closing,  I  will  say  the  herder  told  me  the  ground  passed  over  was  very 
good  and  equaled  and  in  places  excelled  the  pasturage  in  Siberia ;  he  further 
stated  that  the  pasturage  surrounding  station  was  sufficient  for  a  year,  provid¬ 
ing  that  in  the  winter  there  was  not  over  1  foot  of  snow  nor  over  1£  inches  of 
icy  crust  on  top.  If  the  ice  comes  first  and  the  snow  later,  it  is  impossible  for 
the  deer  to  dig  out  the  feed. 

“  I  noticed  in  my  travels  that  the  feed  was  on  low  hills  and  lowlands,  the  high 
hills  being  barren. 

“The  guide,  Charley,  said  that  for  a  long  distance  into  the  interior  the  low- 


24  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


lands  were  the  same  as  passed  over,  thus  showing-  that,  should  it  be  necessary 
to  go  to  the  interior  this  winter,  there  will  surely  be  plenty  of  feed  for  the  rein¬ 
deer.” 

Very  respectfully, 

Miner  W.  Bruce, 

! Teacher . 

Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson, 

General  Agent  of  Education  in  Alaska. 


Appendix  G. 

EECONNOISSANCE  EAST  OF  POET  GLARE  NOE,  BY  MINEE  W. 

BEUGE. 

Reindeer  Station,  Port  Clarence.  Alaska, 

August  19 ,  1892. 

Sir:  In  your  letter  of  instructions  for  the  government  of  this  station,  dated 
July  4,  ultimo,  you  suggest,  among  other  things,  that  two  expeditions  be  sent 
out  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  prospects  for  winter  grazing  for  the  rein¬ 
deer,  should  the  country  in  this  immediate  vicinity  become  covered  with  ice  or 
deep  snow,  thus  preventing  the  deer  from  pawing  through  it  for  food. 

One  route  designated  by  you  was  to  the  north  for  the  station,  in  the  direction 
of  Kotzebue  Sound;  and  in  accordance  with  your  instructions  Mr.  Gibson,  on 
the  27th  ultimo,  made  a  trip  in  that  direction,  lasting  four  days  and  a  half,  the 
result  of  which  I  communicated  to  you  officially  on  the  2d  day  of  the  present 
month. 

On  the  3d  instant  I  started  on  a  trip  to  the  northeast,  with  an  oomeak  and 
seven  natives,  expecting,  if  my  health  permitted,  to  be  gone  ten  days  or  two 
weeks. 

Our  route  lay  through  Grantiey  Harbor  into  Imnrock  Lake,  and  having  a  fair 
wind,  we  made  a  splendid  day’s  sail,  taking  us  about  half  way  through  the  lake, 
and  camping  the  first  night  on  the  west  side. 

I  wish  especially  to  call  your  attention  to  the  route  from  Grantiey  Harbor  into 
Imnrock  Lake,  as  it  affords,  in  the  event  of  severe  storms,  unusual  shelter  for¬ 
th  e  deer. 

A  narrow  passage,  probably  6  miles  in  length,  connects  these  two  beautiful 
bodies  of  water,  and  as  it  winds  its  zigzag  course  along  the  line  of  bluffs  on  each 
side,  which  commence  immediately  on  leaving  Grantiey  Harbor,  is  unbroken  un¬ 
til  Imnrock  Lake  is  reached.  The  passage  seems  to  be  of  nearly  an  uniform 
width,  and  will  not  exceed,  at  its  widest  part,  one  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  bluffs 
on  both  sides  are  about  200  feet  high,  and  there  appears  to  be  water  sufficient  to 
float  an  ocean  vessel. 

At  several  places  along  the  route  I  left  the  oomeak,  and  with  the  Siberian 
herder  went  to  the  top  of  the  bluff  and  found  the  country  to  the  north  a  gently 
undulating  table-land,  and  with  my  glasses  I  could  see  that  for  several  miles  this 
character  of  country  did  not  seem  to  change. 

On  the  south  side  the  same  aspect  of  country  appeared,  but  4  or  5  miles  to  the 
south  the  country  became  more  broken,  and  took  in  what  appeared  to  be  low 
mountains. 

The  whole  surface  of  the  country  on  both  sides  was  covered  with  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  low  bushes,  occasional  patches  of  grass,  having  the  appearance  of  blue 
joint,  and  what  was  certainly  red-top  grass  and  mosses. 

Even  on  this  table-land  the  surface  of  the  country  was  very  uneven,  being  in 
places  hummocky,  and  the  little  spots  between  seemed  to  be  marshy  and  often 
lilled  with  water. 

The  Siberian  herder  seemed  much  pleased  with  the  character  of  the  feed,  and 
frequently  pointed  out  the  different  kinds  of  grasses  or  shrubbery  that  the  deer 
were  fond  of,  and  always  designated  the  moss  as  choice  winter  grazing. 

From  the  natives  in  my  party  I  learned  that  the  snow  in  this  passage  does  not 
reach  a  depth  of  over  one  foot,  and  usually  less;  also,  that  when  one  side  of  the 
passage  is  covered  with  snow,  the  other  is  lightly  covered.  If  this  be  true,  it 
would  appear  that  the  deer,  if  it  becomes  necessary  to  move  them  from  the  sta¬ 
tion,  can  find  good  grazing  either  one.  side  or  the  other  of  the  passage;  and  in 
severe  storms  a  refuge  may  be  had  behind  the  high  walls  of  the  bluff's. 


# 


- tm»tt hi  i  ^  . . . 


INTRODUCTION  OP  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  25 


On  the  morning  following  our  first  day’s  sail  1  took  the  herder  to  the  top  of 
the  hill  just  back  of  our  camp.  It  is  probably  four  or  five  hundred  feet  high 
and  runs  out  to  a  point  into  Imnrock  Lake.  Prom  its  top  a  splendid  view  of  the 
country  in  every  direction  is  had.  The  general  contour,  as  far  as  I  could  see, 
whs  the  same  as  that  observed  from  the  bluffs  along  the  narrow  passage.  My 
position  commanded  a  view  to  the  northwest,  north,  and  northeast,  and  for  a 
distance  of  25  miles  at  least  the  same  character  of  country  prevailed.  As  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach  not  a  mountain  was  visible  and  not  a  speck  of  snow  was  seen. 

To  the  west  there  were  several  miles  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  marsh,  or  a  very 
lo  w  land,  covered  with  little  patches  of  water  back  from  the  lake.  These  gradu¬ 
ally  disappeared  in  the  north,  where  the  land  became  higher  and  of  the  same 
general  character  I  found  farther  to  the  south. 

From  my  position  I  could  see  the  faint  outline  of  the  north  end  of  the  lake, 
probably  12  or  15  miles  away,  and  I  thought  I  could  discern  the  winding  course 
of  a  river  coursing  through  the  table-lands  to  the  north,  and  if  so,  it  was  prob¬ 
ably  the  Agee-ee-puk  River. 

On  the  sides  and  top  of  the  hill  from  which  I  was  making  my  observations  there 
was  a  thick  growth  of  the  same  kind  of  grasses  and  shrubbery  found  the  day 
before.  I  was  surprised  to  find  along  the  route  to  the  top  of  the  hill  patches  of 
low  willow  and  elder  bushes,  from  the  branches  of  which  twittered  and  flitted 
small  birds,  and  every  few  paces  we  advanced  aroused  ptarmigan  in  large  num¬ 
bers. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  appearance  of  the  country,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  that 
would  suggest  anything  like  what  one  would  expect  to  find  bordering  on  the 
Arctic  circle.  On  the  contrary,  the  vegetation,  much  of  it,  was  such  as  is  found 
in  temperate  climates,  and  the  birds  and  insects  of  the  same  variety  that  abound 
in  country  where  the' mercury  never  ranges  lower  than  zero. 

From  my  position  on  the  top  of  the  hill  I  could  see  what  appeared  to  be  a 
break  in  the  range  of  mountains  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  and  as  the  wind 
was  blowing  from  the  north,  thus  preventing  farther  advance  in  the  present 
state  of  the  weather,  I  concluded  to  sail  to  the  other  side  and  investigate  the 
country  in  that  direction. 

The  distance  across  was  about  4  miles,  but  the  wind  died  out  when  about  half 
way  across,  and  we  were  compelled  to  paddle  the  rest  of  the  way,  a  very  slow 
process  of  travel  in  an  oomeak. 

On  reaching  shore  we  went  into  camp,  and  after  dinner  I  started  with  the 
natives  for  the  mountains.  My  puropse  was  to  simply  get  an  idea  of  the  coun¬ 
try  between  the  shore  of  the  lake  and  the  foot  of  the  mountains  that  day,  and 
take  all  of  the  next  for  determining  the  extent  of  the  pass. 

All  the  afternoon  we  traversed  the  lowlands  towards  the  mountains  and  found 
the  same  general  growth  of  vegetation  as  that  found  before.  It  could  not  well 
be  of  thicker  growth  or  to  all  appearances  more  nutritious.  If  any  thing  there 
was  more  moss,  and  perhaps  the  low  bushes  hung  fuller  with  blueberries  than 
any  found  before.  There  were  several  small  mountain  streams  leading  across  to 
the  lake,  and  if  they  were  supplied  from  melting  snow  it  was  far  up  or  hidden 
between  narrow  gorges,  as  none  were  seen  from  where  we  traveled. 

It  was  after  6  o’clock  when  we  returned  to  camp,  and  before  retiring  the  na¬ 
tives  understood  that  on  the  morrow  we  were  going  to  try  to  find  a  passage 
into  the  interior. 

Accordingly,  by  7  o’clock  we  were  ready  to  begin  our  tramp.  We  took  with 
us  an  ax,  spade,  field  glass,  and  two  hard-tack  apiece.  Our  course  lay  across  the 
lowlands  towards  what  appeared  to  be  a  break  in  the  mountains,  and  it  was  at 
least  7  mile  s  from  camp  across  to  the  entrance.  Part  of  the  distance  lay  over 
comparatively  smooth  land,  and  a  considerable  portion  over  hummocky  ground. 
There  did  not  appear  to  be  any  difference  in  the  thickness  of  the  vegetation  or 
the  variety  in  these  two  different  surfaces^,  but  the  rough  ground  was  the  most 
tedious  I  have  ever  attempted  to  travel  over.  The  little  ridges  or  hummocks 
are  too  wide  to  step  over,  and  too  shaky  to  stand  upon,  so  that  our  trip  over  this 
section  was  a  series  of  ujjs  and  downs,  mostly  the  latter. 

At  our  stops  for  rest  I  had  holes  dug  with  the  spade  and  was  surprised  to  find 
a  black,  sandy  soil,  from  1  foot  to  3  feet  deep,  in  nearly  every  instance.  Some- 
times  we  could  not  dig  more  than  a  few  inches  on  account  of  encountering  stone 
or  slabs  of  rock:,  but  this  was  not  the  rule.  I  thought  I  discovered  the  secret  of 
such  a  heavy  and  luxuriant  vegetation  here,  from  the  rich  class  of  the  soil  and 
the  abundance  of  water. 

In  our  way  towards  the  break  we  passed  through  two  groves  of  elder  and  wil¬ 
low  trees  that  were  dense,  of  from  2  to  4  inches  in  diameter  near  the  butt  and 


26  INTRODUCTION  OP  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


from  10  to  15  feet  high.  It  was  evident  that  a  little  grubbing  and  thinning  out 
would  have  improved  the  size  of  these  trees  materially. 

Our  journey  up  the  side  of  the  mountain  near  what  appeared  to  be  a  pass  was 
a  tedious  one,  for  the  nature  of  the  ground  was  more  or  less  hummocky.  I  find 
that  this  class  of  land  is  as  liable  to  occur  on  high  or  table  land  as  upon  low  and 
marshy  ground. 

It  became  apparent  as  we  ascended  the  mountain  that  the  break  or  pass  which 
appeared  to  extend  through  the  range  was  a  false  one,  and  when  near  the  top  it 
appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  blow-out  which  came  to  an  abrupt  perpendicular  at  the 
end  of  a  sudden  break  ahead.  Prom  the  top  of  the  mountain  we  had  ascended, 
although  not  the  highest  by  considerable,  we  could  see  that  the  country  to  the 
south  was  a  succession  of  mountains  of  perhaps  2,000  or  3,000  feet  high,  and  that 
there  was  no  pass  into  the  interior  unless  following  the  course  of  some  river. 

Accordingly,  we  commenced  our  descent  about  2  o’clock,  and  varied  our  course 
somewhat.  It  took  us  farther  to  the  east  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  and 
then  straight  to  camp. 

On  our  way  back  we  passed  over  a  section  of  country  that  was  a  complete  bed 
of  moss.  We  could  rake  it  up  in  armfuls,  and  in  a  few  minutes,  during  a  spelL  of 
rest,  we  gathered  sufficient  to  feed,  as  our  Siberian  herder  declared,  our  whole 
herd  of  about  150  head  of  deer  for  one  day. 

If  his  estimate  was  correct,  I  feel  assured  that  in  this  particular  section  a  half- 
dozen  men  with  hand  rakes  and  pitchforks  could,  in  one  week,  gather  enough  to 
feed  our  herd  the  coming  winter. 

At  different  times  during  the  day,  as  had  occurred  during  the  day  before,  the 
Siberian  herder  gave  me  to  understand  that  a  trip  in  search  of  winter  grazing 
was  a  useless  expenditure  of  time  ;  that  what  might  appear  to  be  good  feeding- 
ground  now,  when  winter  set  in  might  be  covered  with  a  thick  crust  of  ice  or 
deep  snow ;  that  nothing  could  be  told  from  the  lay  of  the  land  whether  feed 
could  be  gotten  at  by  the  deer  or  not ;  that  a  locality  which  was  all  that  could 
be  desired  this  winter  would  be  totally  inaccessible  next ;  that  it  was  the  prac¬ 
tice  on  the  Siberian  side  to  select  what  appeared  to  be  a  good  section  for  winter 
grazing,  and  if  it  became  covered  with  thick  ice  or  deep  snow,  to  move  the  deer 
to  some  locality  where  feed  could  be  had. 

This  was  the  same  information  Mr.  Gibson  had  gathered  from  our  chief  Si¬ 
berian  herder,  whom  he  had  with  him,  and  I  partly  resolved,  if  the  wind  was 
not  favorable  for  moving  north  the  following  morning,  to  retrace  my  steps  and 
return  to  the  station. 

I  had  left  rather  against  my  judgment,  for  my  work  of  late  had  told  on  me 
and  I  needed  rest.  On  my  return  to  camp  that  evening  I  was  completely  worn 
out,  and  during  the  night  experienced  a  slight  chill. 

The  morning  broke  rainy,  and  I  was  feeling  miserably.  The  judgment  of  the 
Siberian  that  it  was  a  useless  trip  was  a  strong  argument  in  my  present  condi¬ 
tion,  and  when,  an  hour  later,  a  strong  north  wind  settled  the  matter  of  prog¬ 
ress  towards  the  north  against  us,  at  least  for  that  day,  but  was  a  fair  wind  for 
the  station,  I  ordered  everything  packed,  and,  after  about  fourteen  hours’  sail, 
reached  the  station. 

As  we  must  in  a  considerable  measure  depend  upon  the  judgment  of  the  four 
Siberian  herders,  who  have  spent  all  their  lives  in  the  rearing  and  care  of  rein¬ 
deer,  it  seems  to  me  that  in  the  present  state  of  affairs  at  the  station,  with  so 
much  to  do  and  so  little  time  before  cold  weather  will  set  in,  when  the  presence 
of  myself  and  Mr.  Gibson  is  required,  further  exploration  in  search  of  winter 
feed  ought  to  be  abandoned,  or  at  least  postponed  until  later  in  the  fall. 

From  this  view  of  the  matter,  I  would  respectfully  ask  a  modification  of  your 
instructions  upon  this  point. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Miner  W.  Bruce, 

*  Teacher. 

Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson, 

General  Agent  of  Education  in  Alaska,  Washington,  1).  Q. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  27 


Appendix  IT. 

INSTBUCTIONS  FOB  GUIDANCE  OF  BEINDEEB  STATION. 

On  Board  U.  S.  Revenue  Marine  Steamer  Bear, 

At  anchor  off  Port  Clarence ,  July  4,  1892. 

Sir:  During-  the  months  of  August  and  September,  1891, 1  purchased  in  Siberia 
and  landed  (September  21)  at  Unalaska  sixteen  domestic  reindeer.  Having  no 
herder  to  take  charge  of  them,  I  turned  them  loose  on  the  small  island  of  Arnak- 
nak,  where  they  successfully  wintered. 

The  landing  this  morning  at  this  station  from  the  U.  S.  Revenue  Marine 
steamer  Bear  (Capt.  Michael  A.  Healey,  commander)  of  a  band  of  fifty-three 
domesticated  reindeer  from  South  Head,  Siberia,  together  with  four  herders, 
marks  the  establishment  of  the  first  herd  of  the  kind  in  Alaska. 

This  is  an  event  of  far  more  than  ordinary  importance.  If  successful,  it  will 
create  throughout  northern  and  central  Alaska  a  new  food  supply  in  place  of 
the  whale,  the  walrus,  and  the  fur-bearing  animals  that  are  yearly  becoming 
scarcer  and  more  difficult  to  obtain. 

Furnished  a  better  and  surer  food  supply,  the  native  population,  now  decreas¬ 
ing  in  numbers,  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  increase. 

Changing  them  from  mere  hunters  to  herdsmen,  it  will  be  the  first  upward  step 
in  their  civilization. 

With  the  increase  in  civilization  of  the  natives  and  the  general  introduction 
of  domestic  reindeer,  the  vast,  bleak,  frigid,  and  now  comparatively  useless 
plains  of  Arctic  Alaska  will  be  reclaimed  and  become  a  source  of  wealth  and 
prosperity  to  the  land. 

The  realization  of  this  desirable  condition  of  things  is  largely  in  your  hands. 
The  friends  of  the  movement  and  the  National  Government,  which  has  been 
asked  to  extend  it,  will  be  encouraged  to  go  forward  or  led  to  withdraw  from 
further  effort  as  the  herd  now  intrusted  to  your  care  prospers  or  comes  to 
naught. 

With  so  much  at  stake,  you  will  make  the  care  and  welfare  of  the  herd  your 
first  and  most  constant  care.  Everything  else  is  of  secondary  importance. 

WINTER  GRAZING. 

The  most  trying  season  will  be  next  winter,  when  the  food  that  now  abounds 
everywhere  will  be  largely  covered  up  with  snow  and  ice.  In  Siberia  I  am  in¬ 
formed  that  the  winter  grazing  is  sometimes  from  100  to  150  miles  away  from 
the  summer  grounds,  the  herd  being  driven  back  and  forth  spring  and  fall. 

It  is  essential,  then,  that  you  take  early  steps  to  find  a  good  location  for  win¬ 
ter.  To  this  end  I  would  advise  that  as  soon  as  your  house  is  inclosed  you  take 
Charley  and  the  most  experienced  of  the  Siberian  herders  and  make  a  thorough 
exploration  of  the  surrounding  country.  I  would  make  one  trip  through  Grantly 
Harbor,  Yoks-hook  River,  Imrock  Lake,  to  the  headwaters  of  Agee-ee-puk  and 
C'ov-vee-arak  rivers;  also,  on  the  trail  from  Grantly  Harbor  towards  Unala 
Kleet  and  St.  Michael.  I  would  also  advise  a  trip  into  and  through  the  moun¬ 
tains  north  of  the  station.  Charley  will  be  a  good  guide,  and  perhaps  the  Sibe¬ 
rian  will  know  by  the  lay  and  general  appearance  of  the  land  the  most  suitable 
place  to  winter. 

I  feel  great  solicitude  with  regard  to  this.  A  mistake  may  result  in  the  loss 
of  our  herd  by  starvation.  The  natives  around  Port  Clarence  affirm  that,  while 
there  is  not  much  snow  on  the  plains  between  the  hills  and  the  sea,  yet  it  is  cov¬ 
ered  with  a  hard,  icy  crust  which  the  deer  can  not  break  through  for  food. 
They  further  say  that,  years  ago,  when  the  wild  reindeer  frequented  the  coast, 
they  were  only  found  in  summer — that  in  winter  they  migrated  towards  Norton 
Sound. 

It  may  prove*  that  the  winter  grazing  grounds  that  shall  be  selected  may  be 
too  far  away ;  that  it  will  become  necessary  to  close  up  for  the  winter  the  present 
house  and  establish  temporary  headquarters  in  the  vicinity  of  the  deer.  If  this 
necessity  arises,  I  would  suggest  that  you  build  a  log  house  (if  in  a  timber  coun¬ 
try)  or  a  dugout  for  winter  use. 

PROTECTION  FROM  DOGS. 

Another  danger  to  the  herd  arises  from  the  attacks  of  strange  dogs.  You 
will,  therefore,  require  one  of  the  herders  on  watch  to  be  armed,  and  instruct 


28  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 

him  to  shoot  down  any  dog  attacking  the  herd  and  report  the  same  to  you  for 
settlement.  When  a  dog  is  thus  killed  you  will  send  for  the  owner,  explain  to 
him  the  necessity  for  the  step,  express  your  regret  at  his  loss,  and  then  make 
suitable  payment  for  the  dog. 

When  any  visiting  natives  come  into  your  neighborhood  have  them  notified 
at  once  that  they  must  keep  their  dogs  tied  up.  Deal  firmly,  justly,  kindly,  and 
patiently  with  the  natives,  and  thus  secure  their  good  will. 

Once  a  month  you  will  count  the  herd,  and  if  any  are  missing  or  have  been 
killed  note  it  down,  with  cause  (if  known),  and  report  same  with  all  the  circum¬ 
stances  to  the  Bureau  of  Education. 

If  any  exigency  arises  by  which  it  becomes  necessary  to  kill  a  deer  for  food, 
you  will  first  use  any  surplus  among'  the  geldings,  and  after  that  from  among 
the  bulls.  None  are  to  be  killed,  however,  except  incases  of  extreme  necessity. 

HERDERS. 

« 

The  herders  consist  of  two  classes  : 

1.  Experienced  men  from  Siberia. 

2.  Native  Alaskans  who  may  wish  to  learn  the  management  and  care  of  rein¬ 
deer. 

The  Siberians,  being  away  from  their  friends  and  among  a  strange,  selfish, 
and  at  times  jealous  and  suspicious  people,  need  your  special  care  and  protection. 
Take  pains  to  make  them  feel  that  you  hav  e  a  fatherly  interest  in  them.  I  hope 
their  treatment  will  be  such  that  they  will  choose  to  remain  with  us  perma¬ 
nently. 

The  second  class  should  be  picked  young  men  (one  or  two  from  a  settlement), 
who  ai  e  expected  to  take  a  two-years  training  in  the  care  of  the  herd  and  thus 
become  fitted  to  take  charge  of  future  herds  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  own 
homes.  At  the  close  of  their  two-years  course,  if  they  have  been  faithful  to  their 
duties  and  mastered  the  business,  it  is  proposed  to  uive  them  the  deer  as  their 
start  in  life.  This  class  will  need  constant  watching.  Anyone  persistently  re¬ 
fusing  to  obey  necessary  rules,  shirking  his  duties  on  watch,  or  otherwise 
showing  a  want  of  interest  in  this  work,  or  anyone  that  proves  too  dull  to  learn 
is  to  be  dismissed  from  the  service  and  sent  away  from  the  station. 

The  second  class  are  to  be  subdivided  into  classes  corresponding  with  the  num¬ 
ber  in  the  first  class. 

For  instance,  if  you  should  have  twelve  in  the  second  class,  and,  as  now,  four 
in  the  first  class,  you  will  place  three  of  the  second  class  under  the  tuition  and 
oversight  of  each  of  the  four  of  the  first  class;  and  whenever  he  goes  on  watch 
they  shall  accompany  him  and  be  subject  to  his  direction.  It  will  then,  as  a 
gen  ral  rule,  be  necessary  for  only  one  of  the  Siberians  to  be  with  the  herd  at  a 
time.  In  case  of  sickness  of  one  of  the  Siberians  his  pupils  will  be  assigned  duty 
with  the  others  until  the  sick  one  recovers  and  returns  to  duty. 

After  conference  with  the  Siberians  you  will  be  able  to  systematize  the  hours 
of  watch.  In  this  I  would  defer  largely  to  the  method  pursued  in  Siberia. 

When  the  seasons  of  watch  are  determined  upon  you  will  see  that  each  watch 
promptly  relieves  the  preceding  one  at  the  proper  time. 

The  herders  of  both  classes  are  to  be  housed,  clothed,  fed,  and  cared  for  at  the 
expense  of  the  station. 

SHELTER. 

At  the  home  station,  when  off  duty,  have  the  herders  construct  comfortable 
dugouts  for  their  own  use.  If  you  can  spare  the  large  dugout  already  com¬ 
menced  that  can  be  turned  oven*  to  the  herders. 

If  it  becomes  necessary  to  have  the  herd  a  large  distance  off,  buy  some  wal¬ 
rus  hides  for  a  covering,  and  let  the  herders  make  a  small  tent  that  can  be 
moved  from  place  to  place. 

You  will  make  an  inspection  of  the  dugouts  every  Saturday,  and  require  them 
to  be  kept  as  cleanly  as  possible.  Allow  no  slops  or  offal  to  be  thrown  upon  the 
ground  near  the  door. 

SUPPLIES. 

You  will  furnish  them  with  the  necessary'-  iron  teakettles  and  pots  for  cook¬ 
ing.  They  are  expected  to  procure  driftwood  for  fuel.  You  will  also  furnish 
them  a  sufficiency  of  reindeer  skins  foe  bedding.  These  supplies  are  Govern¬ 
ment  property,  and  are  to  be  carried  upon  the  inventory  list. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  29 


CLOTHING. 

You  will  supply  them  with  comfortable  native  fur  clothing,  according-  to  the 
season. 

If  the  supplies  I  leave  with  you  for  this  year  are  not  sufficient,  you  will  employ 
some  of  the  native  women  to  make  more.  As  the  reindeer  clothing  can  be  pur¬ 
chased  ready  made  in  Siberia  cheaper  than  made  in  Alaska,  you  wilL  make  out  at 
each  season  a  list  of  garments  needed  and  respectfully  request  the  commanding 
otfi5br  of  the  revenue  cutter  to  have  them  purchased  for  you.  For  this  you  will 
furnish  him  sufficient  barter  from  the  reindeer  trade  goods. 

Once  a  month  you  will  inventory  all  bedding,  clothing,  cooking  utensils,  and 
other  Government  property  used  by  the  herders. 

Twice  a  month,  if  the  weather  is  suitable,  all  bedding  should  be  hung  out  to 
air  and  sun  upon  a  line  erected  for  the  purpose. 

Herders  of  the  second  class  need  special  watching  that  they  do  not  give  or  sell 
their  clothes,  bedding,  or  other  Government  property  to  their  friends. 

FOOD. 

Flour,  corn  meal,  pilot  bread,  beans,  and  tea  will  be  sent,  from  San  Francisco. 
It  is  best,  however,  as  far  as  possible,  to  preserve  their  native  diet.  You  will 
therefore  purchase  supplies  of  oil,  dried  and  fresh  fish,  etc. 

As  soon  as  you  can  determine  it  fix  upon  a  regular  ration,  which  you  can  is¬ 
sue  daily  or  at  regular  intervals  as  experience  shall  show  to  be  best. 

Outsiders  or  friends  are  not  to  be  allowed  to  gather  in  and  eat  with  the  herders. 
Nor  shall  the  herders  be  allowed  to  give  them  food.  If  any  food  is  to  be  given 
away  it  must  be  done  by  the  superintendent  or  his  assistant,  and  an  account 
kept  of  the  same,  giving  date,  approximate  amount,  and  number  of  recipients. 
You  will  encourage  the  herders  when  off:  duty  to  trap  for  rabbits  and  foxes  both 
for  fur  and  food. 

When  any  garment,  bedding,  skin,  or  other  property  (except  food)  is  issued 
to  a  herder  or  his  wife,  charge  it  against  him  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose. 
This  will  be  a  check  against  wastefulness,  prevent  any  one  receiving  more  or 
less  than  his  share,  and  enable  us  to  keep  an  account  of  the  expense  of  training 
each  individual. 

WIVES. 

If  any  of  the  herders  shall  be  married  and  have  their  wives  with  them,  you 
can  issue  a  ration  and  clothing  also  to  the  wife,  requiring  from  her  in  return 
some  sewing  or  cooking  for  the  herders.  If  there  are  several  women  you  can 
apportion  the  work  among  them. 

SCHOOL. 

'  /  y-  , 

If  circumstances  permit,  you  will  gather  the  herders  that  are  off  duty,  and 
such  others  as  may  wish  to  attend,  into  the  schoolroom  for  two  or  three  hours 
daily  (except  Saturday  and  Sunday)  and  drill  them  in  elementary  reading,  arith¬ 
metic,  and  writing.  Special  emphasis  will  be  given,  both  in  and  out  of  school, 
to  the  use  of  the  English  language. 


FUEL. 

As  far  as  possible  you  will  procure  and  use  driftwood  for  fuel  at  the  station. 
The  coal  is  to  be  reserved  for  keeping  a  fire  through  the  night  and  for  seasons 
when  you  may  be  unable  to  secure  driftwood. 

MORALS. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  write  that  you  will  allow  no  liquor,  gambling,  pro¬ 
fanity,  or  immorality  at  the  station  or  among  the  herders. 

You  will  allow  no  barter  or  unnecessary  work  at  the  station  on  Sunday. 

You  or  your  assistant  must  always  be  at  the  station.  Both  of  you  must  not 
be  absent  at  the  same  time.  If  the  station  is  temporarily  removed  to  the  winter 
grazing  grounds  then  that  for  the  time  being  becomes  headquarters. 


30  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


REPORTS. 

1.  You  will  keep  a  log  book  or  brief  daily  journal  of  events  at  the  station,  ex¬ 
tending  from  July  1  of  each  year  io  the  following  June  30.  This  book  is  to  be 
mailed  to  the  Bureau  of  Education. 

2.  You  will  keep  in  a  book  furnished  you  an  itemized  statement  of  all  barter 
for  supplies  for  the  station,  giving  date  of  transaction,  name  and  quantity  of 
article  purchased,  and  articles  and  quantities  of  each  given  in  exchange.  ^A 
copy  of  this  statement  will  be  annually  forwarded  to  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Education. 

3.  On  the  last  day  of  March,  June,  September,  and  December  of  each  year  you 
will  make  out  an  inventory  of  all  stores  and  public  property  in  your  possession, 
including  bedding  and  cooking  utensils  in  use  by  the  herders.  This  does  not 
include  the  clothing  issued  to  and  in  use  by  the  herders. 

A  copy  of  these  reports  will  be  forwarded  by  the  annual  mail  to  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education. 

4.  On  the  last  day  of  June  each  year  you  will  make  out  and  mail  to  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education  an  annual  report  of  operations  at  the  station.  In 
this  report  you  will  embody  any  recommendations  that  your  experience  may 
suggest  for  the  benefit  of  the  station. 

5.  On  the  1st  of  August  each  year  you  will  make  a  requisition  for  supplies  for 
the  following  year. 

As  the  work  is  new  and  untried,  much  must  necessarily  be  left  to  your  discre¬ 
tion  and  good  judgment. 

Wishing  you  great  success,  I  remain 
Yours  truly, 

Sheldon  Jackson, 

General  Agent. 

Mr.  Miner  W.  Bruce, 

a Superintendent  of  'Reindeer  Station ,  Port  Clarence ,  Alaska. 


Appendix  J. 

DOMESTIC  REINDEER  IN  LAPLAND. 

[From  Du  Chaillu’s  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun,  vol  2,  pp.  167  and  168.] 

The  Fjeld  Lapp’s  time  is  engaged  in  adding  to  his  herd,  to  which  he  and  his 
family  devote  all  their  energies,  for  their  welfare  depends  on  the  growth  of  the 
animals.  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  exactly  the  increase  or  decrease  of  reindeer 
according  to  the  districts,  for  the  people  often  change,  and  there  has  been  of 
late  years  in  the  North  a  large  immigration  of  Norwegian  Lapps  to  the  terri¬ 
tory  of  Sweden,  especially  to  Keresuando*  but,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  population 
and  the  reindeer  are  increasing.  There  is  a  greater  number  in  Norway  than  in 
Sweden,  owing  to  the  number  of  stationary  bonder  (farmer)  and  sea  Lapps  which 
far  outnumber  the  nomads. 

According  to  the  late  census  there  are  in  Sweden  (1870)  6,702  Laplanders', 
with  220,800  reindeer ;  in  Norway  (1865)  17,178  Laplanders,  with  101,768  reindeer  ; 
in  Finland  (1865)  615  Laplanders,  with  40,200 reindeer  ;  in  Russia  (1859)  2,207  Lap¬ 
landers,  with  4,200  reindeer. 

With  those  that  belong  to  farmers  and  others  I  think  we  may  safely  say  that 
the  reindeer  number  about  400,000.  The  Samo'ides  have  the  largest  and  finest 
breeds  which  are  not  numbered  among  those  of  the  Lapps.  In  Kautokeino  there 
are  Lapps  who  own  2,000  reindeer;  in  Sorsele,  in  Sweden,  one  is  said  to  own 
5,000,  and  others  1,000  and  2,000.  Some  of  the  forest  Lapps  have  1,000.  In  Lulea 
Lappmark  there  are  herds  of  over  2,000;  in  Finmarken,  of  5,000;  and  some 
Lapps  have  owned  as  many  as  10,000.  A  herd  of  2,000  to  2,500  is  said  to  give 
about  200  to  250  calves  yearly. 

Every  owner  has  his  own  mark  branded  upon  the  ears  of  all  his  reindeers,  and 
no  other  person  has  a  right  to  have  the  same,  as  this  is  the  lawful  proof  of  own¬ 
ership  ;  otherwise,  when  several  herds  are  mingled  on  the  mountains,  the  sep¬ 
aration  would  be  impossible.  According  to  custom  no  one  can  make  a  new  mark 
but  must  buy  that  of  an  extinct  herd  ;  if  these  are  scarce  the  price  paid  to  the 
families  that  own  them  is  often  high  ;  the  name  of  the  purchaser  and  each  mark 
have  to  be  recorded  in  court,  like  those  of  any  other  owner  and  property.  The 
tax  paid  is  according  to  the  pasture  land  occupied. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


31 


Appendix  K. 


U.  S.  Revenue  Steamer  Bear, 

San  Francisco ,  Gal.,  December  6,  1890. 

Dear  Sir  :  Under  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  I  have  been  ten 
years  on  the  Bering  Sea  and  Arctic  Ocean  station  of  the  U.  S.  Revenue  Marine 
Service. 

My  duties  have  brought  me  very  closely  in  contact  with  and  greatly  interested 
me  in  the  native  population. 

On  account  of  this  interest,  I  have  watched  with  pleasure  the  coming  among 
them  of  the  missionaries  of  the  several  churches  and  the  teachers  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  schools. 

I  have  also  seen  with  apprehension  the  gradual  exhaustion  of  the  native  food 
supply. 

From  time  immemorial  they  have  lived  principally  on  the  whale,  seal,  walrus, 
salmon,  and  wild  reindeer.  But  in  the  persistent  hunt  of  white  men  for  the 
whale  and  walrus,  the  latter  has  largely  disappeared,  and  the  former  been 
driven  beyond  the  reach  of  the  natives.  The  white  men  are  also  erecting  can¬ 
neries  on  their  best  fishing  streams,  and  the  usual  supply  offish  is  being  cut  off ; 
and  with  the  advent  of  improved  firearms  the  wild  reindeer  are  migrating 
farther  and  farther  away. 

With  the  disappearance  of  the  whale,  walrus,  salmon,  and  reindeer,  a  very 
large  portion  of  their  food  supply  is  taken  away,  and  starvation  and  gradual  ex¬ 
tinction  appear  in  the  near  future. 

On  my  recent  cruise  I  was  accompanied  by  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  United  States 
General  Agent  of  Education,  and  together  we  have  made  the  question  of  a  future 
food  supply  the  subject  of  special  thought  and  investigation. 

We  have  consulted  with  a  few  of  the  leading  teachers,  missionaries,  traders, 
and  whaling  captains  whom  we  have  met,  and  they,  without  a  single  exception, 
agree  with  us  that  the  most  practical  relief  is  the  introduction  of  domesticated 
leindeer  into  that  portion  of  Northern  and  Arctic  Alaska  adapted  to  them. 

In  Lapi and  there  are  400,000  domesticated  reindeer,  sustaining  a  population  of 
27,000.  In  Siberia,  but  a  few  miles  from  Alaska,  with  climate  and  country  of 
similar  conditions,  are  tens  of  thousands  of  tame  reindeer  supporting  thousands 
of  people,  and  it  will  be  a  very  easy  and  comparatively  cheap  matter  to  introduce 
the  tame  reindeer  of  Siberia  into  Alaska  and  teach  the  natives  the  care  and 
management  of  them. 

This  it  is  proposed  to  do  in  connection  with  the  industrial  schools  established 
among  the  natives  by  the  Bureau  of  Education.  As  in  connection  with  the  in¬ 
dustrial  schools  in  Dakota,  Indian  Territory,  and  elsewhere,  the  Indian  boy  is 
taught  the  raising  of  stock,  so  in  the  industrial  schools  of  Alaska  it  is  proposed 
to  teach  the  Eskimo  young  men  the  raising  of  tame  reindeer. 

A  few  thousand  dollars  expended  now  in  the  establishment  of  this  new  indus¬ 
try  will  save  hundreds  of  thousands  hereafter.  For  if  the  time  comes  when  the 
Government  will  be  compelled  to  feed  these  Eskimo  it  will  costover  $1,000,000. 

InNorlhern  Alaska  there  are  about  400,000  square  miles  that  are  adapted  to 
the  reindeer  and  are  unlit  for  anything  else. 

This  region  has  a  present  population  of  about  20,000,  all  of  whom  will  be  ulti¬ 
mately  benefited  by  the  new  industry. 

With  an  assured  support,  such  as  will  come  from  herds  of  tame  reindeer, 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  present  population  shall  not  be  increased  in  numbers 
and  advanced  to  the  position  of  civilized,  wealth-producing  American  citizens. 

Asking  for  your  favorable  consideration  and  earnest  advocacy  of  this  matter, 
I  remain,  yery  respectfully, 

M.  A.  Heady, 

Captain,  U.  IS.  lievenue  Marine. 

Hon.  W.  F.  Harris,  LE.D., 

U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  Washington ,  D.  C. 


DESTITUTION  AMONG  THE  ALASKA  ESKIMO. 

TAn  interview  with  Capt.  M.  A.  Healy,  U.  S.  Revenue  Marine  Service,  in  San  Francisco  Chron 
L  icle,  December  12,  1890.] 

For  several  seasons  past  the  Eskimo  of  Northwestern  Alaska  have  experienced 
great  hardships  in  obtaining  a  supply  of  deer  meat  lot  their  winter  stores.  It 
is  to  be  feared  that  when  the  Bear  makes  her  annual  visit  to  the  Arctic  next 


32  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


summer  many  of  the  villages  will  be  found  to  have  lost  their  residents  from 
starvation.  The  latest  advices  from  the  Arctic  report  a  failure  not  only  in  the 
autumn  deer  hunt,  but  in  the  entire  catch  of  whales,  walrus,  and  seals. 

Naturally  of  a  timid  disposition  the  deer  hhve  learned  that  the  natives  with 
breech-loading  arms  are  far  more  formidable  foes  than  when  bows,  arrows,  and 
spears  were  employed  in  the  chase.  Again,  the  Eskimo  spare  neitheryoung  nor 
old  when  a  herd  is  found,  and  little  suckling  fawns,  as  well  as  does  carrying 
young,  fall  victims  to  their  guns. 

Formerly  on  the  lower  Yukon  around  St.  Michael,  on  Norton  Sound,  and  in 
the  country  known  as  the  Kotzebue  Sound  district,  numbers  of  deer  made  yearly 
visits.  Now  it  is  rare  to  find  that  the  natives  living  at  these  points  have  seen 
or  tasted  deer  meat. 

The  Alaskan  deer  of  the  Arctic  and  sub- Arctic  regions  have  been  confounded 
with  the  reindeer  of  other  localities,  but  while  certainly  belonging  to  the  rangifer 
family,  they  are  the  true  barren-ground  caribou,  differing  from  the  upland  cari¬ 
bou  and  domesticated  reindeer  of  Lapland  and  Siberia  in  being  smaller  in  body 
and  horns.  From  July  to  September  the  instincts  of  the  deer  induce  them  to 
come  from  the  interior  to  the  saacoast  to  obtain  rest  and  freedom  from  the  tor¬ 
tures  inflicted  by  the  hordes  of  mosquitoes  that  infest  the  inland  swamps,  and 
also  to  get  saline  matter  from  the  herbage  and  moss  growing  in  proximity  to 
the  ocean.  In  September  they  commence  their  inland  migration,  and  from 
July  until  the  middle  of  October  they  are  ruthlessly  pursued  by  the  natives. 
Some  rest  is  afforded  to  the  animals  during  the  dark  days  that  prevail  in  the 
Arctic  zone  from  November  until  January,  but  as  soon  after  the  early  part  of 
February  as  the  weather  permits  the  food-seekers  again  take  the  field.  The 
does  have  their  young  during  April,  and  by  a  provision  of  nature  the  horns  of 
the  female  only  attain  size  during  the  time  she  is  suckling  the  fawn  and  until  it 
reaches  such  an  age  th'at  it  can  feed — about  two  months. 

When  it  is  considered  that  a  deer  weighing  on  an  average  125  pounds  is  con¬ 
sumed  at  a  single  sitting  by  five  or  six  natives  it  may  be  readily  perceived  that 
the  average  returns  of  a  successful  hunting  party  must  be  large  to  feed  a  village. 

During,  the  past  season  in  the  Arctic  the  attention  of  Capt.  Healy  of  the  United 
States  revenue  steamer  Bear,  has  been  directed  to  a  very  pointed  manner  to  the 
attainment  of  some  method  whereby  the  supply  of  deer  for  food  and  clothing 
purposes  may  be  increased  in  Northwestern  Alaska.  This  year,  taking  advan¬ 
tage  of  the  presence  on  the  Hear  of  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  United  States  Commis¬ 
sioner  of  Education  for  Alaska,  the  captain,  in  conjunction  with  Commissioner 
Jackson,  intends  to  present  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  data  upon  the  subject. 

Within  a  radius  of  100  miles  inland  from  the  shores  of  the  ocean  on  the  Siberian 
coast,  from  Cape  Navarin  to  Plover  Bay,  there  are  a  people  known  as  deer  men. 
They  belong  to  the  Chukchee  tribe  of  Siberians,  and  are  essentially  a  nomadic 
race,  wandering  from  East  Cape,  on  the  northern  coast,  to  Cape  Navarin,  south¬ 
ward.  Accompanied  by  their  herds  of  tame  reindeer,  aggregating  in  many  in¬ 
stances  thousands,  they  roam  in  search  of  fo:>d.  These  reindeer,  while  resembling 
the  Alaskan  species  in  the  main,  differ  in  the  texture  of  their  skins,  the  pelts  being- 
spotted  brown  and  white,  with  a  smooth  surface.  These  deer  men  subsist  mainly 
on  the  products  of  their  herds,  bartering  the  skins  with  the  coast  natives  for 
tobacco,  seal  oil,  walrus  hides  for  their  boot  soles,  and  other  minor  commodi¬ 
ties.  such  as  powder,  shot,  lead,  and  flour.  At  Cape  Navarin  and  East  Cape, 
Siberia,  they  sometimes  meet  the  whaling  ships  and  sell  them  deer  meat  and 
skins  for  tobacco,  etc. 

Capt.  Healy ’s  ideas  are  to  propose  to  the  Goverement  that  he  be  empowered 
to  purchase  a  number  of  these  deer  of  both  sexes  and  transport  them  on  the  Bear 
to  some  point  on  the  Alaskan  coast  where  moss  and  feed  are  plentiful.  These 
deer  are  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  herd,  and  from  the  yearly  increase  they  can  be 
distributed  over  other  portions  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  As  the  Alaskan 
Eskimo  are  not  skilled  in  herding  the  deer,  Capt.  Healy  intends,  if  permission 
be  granted  by  the  Government,  to  endeaver  to  enlist  the  services  of  some  expe¬ 
rienced  Siberian  natives  to  instruct  them. 

Unless  some  measures  be  adopted,  as  suggested  by  Capt.  Healy,  it  is  sure  that 
a  decade  will  witness  the  extermination  of  the  people  of  our  Arctic  province  on 
its  northwest  shores.  The  results  of  the  active  and  unscrupulous  chase  of  their 
pelagic  food  supplies  by  the  whalemen  have  already  become  evident ;  walrus 
are  almost  invisible  on  the  ice  floes  within  reach  of  the  native  hunters,  while 
the  flurried  and  galled  whale  makes  its  passage  to  the  unknown  regions  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean  at  a  speed  which  defies  the  natives  to  capture  it. 

The  proposition  of  Capt.  Healy  will  be  communicated  to  the  Washington  au¬ 
thorities  at  an  early  date. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


9  o 
O  O 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  WHALES. 

[From  Bancroft’s  History  of  Alaska,  pp.  668  and  669.] 

Of  whaling  enterprise  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Alaskan  coast  mention  has 
already  been  made;  but  a  few  statements  that  will  serve  to  explain  the  enormous 
decrease  that  has  occurred  in  the  catch  within  the  last  three  decades  may  riot  be 
out  of  place. 

Of  the  600  or  700  American  whalers  that  were  fitted  out  for  the  season  of  1857, 
at  least  one-half,  including  most  of  the  larger  vessels,  were  engaged  in  the  north 
Pacific.  The  presence  of  so  vast  as  fleet  tended  of  course  to  exhaust  the  whaling- 
grounds  or  to  drive  the  fish  into  other  waters,  for  there  are  no  permanent  whal¬ 
ing-grounds  on  any  portions  of  the  globe  except  those  encircled  by  ice  for  about 
ten  months  in  the  year.  In  the  seas  of  Greenland,  not  many  years  ago,  whales 
were  rarely  to  be  seen;  in  1870  they  were  fairly  plentiful.  The  sea  of  Okhotsk 
and  the  waters  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  were  a  few  decades 
ago  favorite  lr  n  ing  grounds  but  are  now  almost  depleted,  while  in  1870  the 
coast  of  New  Siberia  was  swarming  with  whales.  Schools  of  sperm  whale  are 
occasonally  seen  between  the  Alaska  peninsula  and  Prince  William  Sound,  and 
the  humpback  sometimes  makes  its  appearance  as  far  north  as  Baranof  Island. 
Between  Bristol  Bay  and  Bering  Strait  a  fair  catch  is  sometimes  taken,  but  most 
of  the  vessels  forming  what  is  termed  the  north  Pacific  whaling  fleet  now  pass 
into  the  Arctic  Ocean  in  quest  of  their  prey.  Probably  not  more  than  8  or  10  of 
them  are  employed  on  the  whaling-grounds  of  the  Alaskan  coast. 

In  1881  the  whaling  fleet  of  the  north  Pacific  mustered  only  thirty  and  in  the 
following  year  forty  craft,  of  which  four  were  steamers.  The  catch  for  1881  was 
one  of  the  most  profitable  that  has  occurred  since  the  date  of  the  transfer,  being 
valued  at  $1,139,000,  or  an  average  of  about  $57,000  for  each  vessel,  some  of  them 
returning  with  cargoes  worth  $75,000  and  few  with  cargoes  worth  less  than  $30,- 
000.  In  1883  the  catch  was  inconsiderable,  several  of  the  whalers  returning 
“  clean,”  and  few  making  a  profit  for  their  owners. 

The  threatened  destruction  of  these  fisheries  is  a  matter  that  seems  to  deserve 
some  attention.  In  1850,  as  will  be  remembered,  it  was  estimated  that  300 
whaling  vessels  visited  Alaskan  waters  and  the  Okhotsk  and  Bering  seas.  Two 
ye  ars  later  the  value  of  the  catch  of  the  north  Pacific  fleet  was  more  than  $14,- 
000.000. 

After  1 852  it  gradually  decreaseed  until  in  1862  it  was  less  than  $800,000 ;  for 
1867  the  amount  was  about  $3,200,000  ;  in  1881  it  had  again  fallen  to  $1,139,000, 
and  for  the  season  of  1883  there  was  a  still  further  reduction. 


San  Francisco,  December  18, 1890. 

Dear  Sir  :  Referring  to  your  desire  to  obtain  information  relative  to  the  in¬ 
troduction  of  reindeer  into  the  northwest  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  I 
would  say  that  in  my  opinion  the  project  is  entirely  feasible.  My  experiencain 
Alaska  permits  me  to  state  on  authority  that  the  next  decade  will  witness  the 
extinction  of  the  American  reindeer,  or  rather  caribou.  In  1881,  when  I  first 
visited  the  district  of  Norton  and  Kotzebue  Sounds  and  the  lower  Yukon,  deer 
were  plentiful.  This  past  winter  (1889)  not  a  single  animal  had  been  seen  within 
a  radius  of  200  miles.  Similar  conditions  are  coexisting  from  Port  Clarence  to 
Point  Barrow,  and  where  in  former  years  the  hunters  had  to  travel  but  50  miles 
to  reach  the  deer  haunts,  to-day  they  traverse  twice  that  distance.  These  con¬ 
tingencies  arise  from  three  causes : 

1.  The  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  young  and  old  animals. 

2.  The  use  at  the  present  day  of  improved  weapons  of  the  chase,  in  lieu  of  the 
primitive  bows,  arrows,  and  spears. 

3.  The  conditions  of  wind  prevailing  at  the  seasons  when  the  deer  go  to 
and  from  the  coast.  It  must  distinctly  be  understood  that  upon  a  supply  of  these 
animals  our  Alaskan  Eskimo  depend  for  clothing  as  well  as  their  stores  of  meat, 

should  their  pelagic  sources  of  pro vinder  fall.  . 

The  proposition  to  introduce  deer  from  the  Siberian  herds  can  be  effected  at  a 

cost  of  but  a  few  thousand  dollars.  .  _  .  . 

The  location  for  the  first  experimental  station  should  be  on  Chons  Peninsula 
or  the  vicinity  of  Kotzebue  Sound.  This  location  has  climatic  similarities  with 
Siberia.  The  food  (moss)  supply  is  abundant  and  herding  easy. 

S.  Mis.  22 - 3 


34  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


As  the  results  of  this  initial  experiment  become  manifest,  additional  locations 
for  herds  can  be  established.  Within  two  seasons  the  Chukchee  herdsmen  will 
be  able  to  instruct  the  Eskimo  in  the  style  of  herding-. 

I  have  made  inquiries  upon  the  subject  and  now  give  you  the  result.  Ten 
years  ag-o  the  Russian  steamer  Alexander  went  to  the  Kamchatka  Peninsula,  and 
officers  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  bought  seven  male  and  seven  female 
deer,  transporting  them  to  Bering  Island  (one  of  the  islands  leased  by  the  com¬ 
pany  from  Russia).  Capts.  Blair  and  Greenberg,  and  Superintendent  Lubegoil 
inform  me  that  the  herd  now  numbers  180.  From  this  you  can  judge  the  rate 
of  propagation. 

The  revenue  steamer  Bear  can  be  utilized  for  transportation,  and  I  know  no 
man  more  capable  of  conducting  the  experiment  than  Capt.  Healy. 

I  hope  that  the  small  sum  required  will  be  voted  by  Congress,  as  unless  some¬ 
thing  is  done  for  these  people  their  annihilation  is  only  a  question  of  a  brief 
period. 

The  whalers  have  so  frightened  the  big  fish  that  the  natives  are  unable  to 
pursue  them  in  their  rapid  passage,  while  the  extermination  of  the  walrus  is  al¬ 
most  a  fact. 

These  remarks  I  present  as  requested. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Henry  D  Woolfe. 

Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson, 

Washington.  1).  C. 


WILD  REINDEER  IN  ALASKA. 

[Charles  H.  Townsend  in  the  Report  of  the  Cruise  of  the  U.  S.  Revenue  Marine  Steamer  Corwin, 

1885,  Capt.  M.  A.  Healy,  commanding,  pp.  87  and  88.] 

Reindeer  are  found  more  or  less  regularly  throughout  Alaska.  They  were 
found  by  Mr.  McLenegan  on  the  Noatak,  as  well  as  by  our  party  on  the  Kowak. 
Traders  in  the  service  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  told  me  of  their  com¬ 
mon  distribution  over  the  Yukon,  Kuskokvim,  and  Aleutian  divisions  of  the 
country.  They  have  even  been  shot  on  Ounimak  Island,  at  the  end  of  the  penin¬ 
sula  ;  but  reindeer  are  restless  animals,  irregular  in  their  migrations  and  habits. 
Sometimes  they  desert  whole  sections  of  the  country  for  months  together,  and 
they  appear  to  have  withdrawn  from  many  regions  where  firearms  have  been 
introduced.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  large  herds  of  reindeers  are  kept  in 
a  state  of  domestication  by  the  Chukchees  at  East  Cape  and  other  well-known 
places  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  Bering  Straits,  with  whom  the  natives  of  the  Alas¬ 
kan  side  communicate  regularly,  there  appears  to  be  no  domestication  of  the 
species  whatever  in  Alaska,  nor  indeed  in  any  part  of  North  America. 

In  time,  when  the  general  use  of  firearms  by  the  natives  of  upper  Alaska  shall 
have  reduced  the  numbers  of  this  wary  animal,  the  introduction  of  the  tame  va¬ 
riety,  which  is  a  substantial  support  to  the  people  just  across  the  straits,  among 
our  own  thriftless,  alcohol-bewitched  Eskimos,  would  be  a  philanthropic  move¬ 
ment,  contributing  more  toward  their  amelioration  than  any  system  of  schools 
or  kindred  charities.  The  native  boats  could  never  accomplish  the  importation, 
which  would,  however,  present  no  difficulty  to  ordinary  seagoing  vessels.  The 
taming  of  the  American  reindeer  is  impracticable,  for  domestication  with  this 
animal  at  least  is  the  result  of  subjection  through  many  generations.  Something 
tending  to  render  a  wild  people  pastoral  or  agricultural  ought  to  be  the  first  step 
toward  their  advancement.  In  our  management  of  these  people,  “purchased 
from  the  Russians,”  we  have  an  opportunity  to  atone,  in  a  measure,  for  a  century 
of  dishonorable  treatment  of  the  Indian. 


REINDEER. 

[From  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  vol.  7,  pp.  24  and  25.] 

The  reindeer  ( Tarandus  ranqifer),  the  only  domesticated  species  of  deer,  has  a 
range  somewhat  similar  to  the  elk,  extending  over  the  entire  boreal  region  of 
both  hemispheres,  from  Greenland  and  Spitzbergen  in  the  north  to  New  Bruns- 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


35 


wick  in  the  south.  There  are  several  well-marked  varieties,  differing  greatly 
in  size  and  in  form  of  the  antlers,  the  largest  forms  occurring  farthest  north, 
while  by  many  writers  the  American  reindeer,  which  has  never  been  domesti¬ 
cated,  is  regarded  as  a  distinct  species.  The  antlers,  which  are  long  and  branch¬ 
ing.  and  considerably  paimated,  are  present  in  both  sexes,  although  in  the  fe¬ 
male  they  are  slender  and  less  branched  than  in  the  males.  In  the  latter  they 
appear  at  a  much  earlier  age  than  in  any  other  species  of  deer,  and  Darwin  con¬ 
jectures  that  in  this  circumstance  a  key  to  their  exceptional  appearance  in  the 
female  may  be  found.  The  reindeer  has  long  been  domesticated  in  Scandinavia, 
and  is  of  indispensable  importance  to  the  Lapland  race,  to  whom  it  serves  at 
once  as  a  substitute  for  the  horse,  cow,  sheep,  and  goat.  As  a  beast  of  burden 
it  is  capable  of  drawing  a  weight  of  300  pounds,  while  its  fleetness  and  endurance 
are  still  more  remarkable.  Harnessed  to  a  sledge  it  will  travel  without  diffi¬ 
culty  100  miles  a  day  over  the  frozen  snow,  its  broad  and  deeply  cleft  hoofs  be¬ 
ing  admirably  adapted  for  traveling  over  such  a  surface. 

During  summer  the  Lapland  reindeer  feeds  chiefly  on  the  young  shoots  of  the 
willow  and  birch ;  and  as  this  season  migration  to  the  coast  seems  necessary  to 
the  well-being  of  the  species,  the  Laplander,  with  his  family  and  herds,  sojourns 
for  several  months  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  sea.  In  winter  its  food  consists 
chiefly  of  the  reindeer  moss  and  other  lichens,  which  it  makes  use  of  its  hoofs  in 
seeking  for  beneath  the  snow.  The  wild  reindeer  grows  to  a  much  greater  size 
than  the  tame  breed,  but  in  Northern  Europe  the  former  are  being  gradually 
reduced  through  the  natives  entrapping  and  domesticating  them.  The  tame 
breed  found  in  Northern  Asia  is  much  larger  than  the  Lapland  form  and  is  there 
used  to  ride  on.  There  are  two  distinct  varieties  of  the  American  reindeer,  the 
barren-ground  caribou  and  the  woodland  caribou.  The  former,  which  is  larger 
and  more  widely  distributed  of  the  two,  frequents  in  summer  the  shores  of  the 
Arctic  Sea,  retiring  to  the  woods  in  autumn  to  feed  on  the  tree  and  other  lichens. 
The  latter  occupies  a  very  limited  tract  of  woodland  country,  and,  unlike  the 
barren-ground  form,  migrates  southward  in  spring.  The  American  reindeer 
travel  in  great  herds,  and,  being  both  unsuspicious  and  curious,  they  fall  ready 
victims  to  the  bow  and  arrow  or  the  cunning  snare  of  the  Indian,  to  whom  their 
carcasses  form  the  chief  source  of  food,  clothing,  tents,  and  tools. 


Appendix  L. 

Capt.  M.  A.  Healy,  in  January,  1892,  writing  to  Senator  Charles  N.  Felton, 
says : 

“  The  three  great  problems  of  existence  of  both  natives  and  whites  in  the  Ter¬ 
ritory  of  Alaska  are  food,  clothing,  and  transportation.  They  are  to  be  solved 
in  a  rigorous  climate  and  rough  and  almost  impenetrable  country,  and  one  in 
which  nothing  as  yet  is  produced  from  the  ground.  The  food  supply  must  either 
be  found  in  the  flesh  of  the  wild  animals  and  birds  of  the  country  or  brought 
from  without.  With  the  white  population  the  food  might  be  said  to  be  brought 
wholly  from  without.  The  enormous  expense  this  entails  has  kept  this  popula¬ 
tion  down  to  the  narrowest  limit  of  employes  of  firms  or  companies  capable  of 
maintaining  stations  there  and  confined  these  stations  to  a  few  scattered  well- 
known  points  along  the  immense  stretch  of  seacoast  or  on  some  of  the  principal 
rivers  as  the  Yukon. 

“food  supply. 

“The  native  population  of  the  northwest  part  of  the  country  depend  for  food 
upon  whale,  walrus,  seal,  fish,  and  what  few  wild  animals,  such  as  deer  and 
ca  dbou,  they  can  kill.  The  whale  and  walrus  have  been  so  persistently  pursued 
by  white  men  that  they  have  rapidly  diminished  and  are  now  so  scarce  and  shy 
that  their  capture  by  the  natives  is  attended  with  great  difficulty  and  uncer¬ 
tainty.  This  scarcity  of  their  principal  supply  of  food  is  greatly  felt  by  the  na- 
ti vestal ong  the  whole  northwest  coast  and  to  such  an  extent  that  in  the  short 
space  of  winter  whole  villages  have  been  wiped  out. 

“I  have  seen  almost  the  entire  population  of  St.  Lawrence  Island  lying  strewn 
about  their  huts  dead  from  starvation.  And  this  winter  of  1891 -’92  the  same  fate 
may  be  that  of  Kings  Island.  Upon  my  visit  there  in  September  last,  the  seal 
and  walrus  catch  having  failed  them,  the  natives  were  reduced  to  the  direst  ex¬ 
tremities.  Their  larders  were  exhausted  and  their  only  means  of  subsistence 


36  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


their  dogs  and  the  kelp  and  carrion  cast  up  by  the  tide.  What  supplies  could 
be  spared  from  the  vessel  and  what  bought  at  St.  Michaels  station  were  given 
the  people,  with  the  hope  that  it  would  tide  them  over  until  more  successful 
hunting.  But  this  hope  is  not  without  misgiving  that  upon  my  return  in  the 
spring  I  shall  find  many  of  them  whom  I  count  as  friends  cold  in  death.  The 
interior  natives  are  dependent  wholly  upon  caribou  and  deer  and  what  fish  come 
into  their  streams  during  the  short  summer.  Caribou  and  deer  are  rapidly  di¬ 
minishing  there,  as  they  have  in  other  countries,  and  the  fishing  streams  are 
being  taken  up  by  white  men,  so  that  the  lines  of  existence  are  on  all  sides  being 
drawn  tighter  and  tighter  about  these  poor  native  Alaskans. 

REINDEER-SKIN  CLOTHING. 

“  Clothing  of  reindeer  skin  has  been  found  the  best  and  only  kind  to  withstand 
the  intense  and  continued  cold  of  the  country.  These  skins  are  now  bartered  at 
a  high  price  from  the  natives  of  the  Siberian  coast,  and  are  passed  along  the  Si¬ 
berian  side  from  village  to  village,  increasing  in  value  the  farther  they  go  from 
the  Bering  Straits.  The  experience  of  white  men  and  natives  has  been  the  same, 
and  even  in  our  summer  visits  to  the  country  we  on  the  vessel  use  reindeer 
clothing  to  keep  from  suffering. 

“  The  methods  of  transportation  now  in  use  in  Alaska  are  by  dog  trains  and 
boats.  By  boat  it  is  impossible  to  travel  nine  months  in  the  year,  and  during 
the  three  months  of  summer  when  the  streams  are  open  they  can  be  used  only 
down  stream.  By  dog  trains  transportation  is  limited,  slow,  and  uncertain,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  load  is  taken  up  with  food  for  the  animals.  These  dogs 
have  been  so  closely  bred  that  they  are  now  degenerated  in  size,  strength,  and 
sagacity.  I  have  for  yeai  s  been  requested  by  natives  to  bring  them  a  larger  breed 
to  improve  their  dogs,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  has  imported  the  English 
mastiff  for  use  in  trains  where  the  native  dog  is  too  slight. 

“Among  the  whites  the  greatest  difficulty  experienced  by  miners,  mission¬ 
aries,  explorers,  and  residents  has  been  the  want  of  a  rapid  and  assured  means 
of  transportation.  The  history  of  every  expedition  that  has  penetrated  into  the 
country  any  distance  from  the  coast  has  been  one  of  suffering  and  oftentimes 
hunger  from  the  difficulty  of  travel  and  packing.  Horses,  cattle,  asses,  and 
other  beasts  of  burden,  excepting  tame  reindeer,  are  out  of  the  question  because 
they  can  not  live  in  the  country,  and  it  is  impossible  to  provide  food  for  them 
when  snow  covers  the  ground  the  larger  part  of  the  year.  On  account  of  this 
difficulty  the  country,  except  along  the  seacoast  and  a  few  of  the  navigable  rivers, 
is  as  little  known  to-day  as  when  it  was  first  bought.  And  those  great  mineral 
deposits  which  Alaska  is  said  to  contain  remain  as  yet  undiscovered. 

“what  the  reindeer  might  do. 

“To  my  mind  the  only  satisfactory  solution  of  all  three  of  these  problems, 
important  as  they  are,  is  the  introduction  of  tame  reindeer  into  the  country. 
In  proper  numbers  they  will  transform  the  native  population  from  a  fishing  to 
a  pastoral  people,  and  prove  to  them  a  never-failing  supply  of  food.  The  hides 
of  the  animals  already  furnish  almost  the  only  clothing  used,  but  at  a  greatly 
exaggerated  cost.  And  to  the  white  explorers,  miners,  missionaries,  and  set¬ 
tlers  the  reindeer  will  prove  a  means  of  transportation  and  packing  that  will 
enable  them  to  learn  and  develop  the  resources  of  a  vast  country. 

“The natives  of  Siberia  have  for  centuries  herded  and  reared  the  tame  rein¬ 
deer,  and  thus  been  safe  against  periodical  periods  of  starvation  when  the  whale 
and  walrus  fail  them.  They  are  a  strong,  swift,  and  hardy  animal,  tractable, 
and  easily  broken  to  harness  and  packing,  and  especially  adapted,  or,  in  fact, 
made  for  the  country  and  climate.  In  travel  they  are  self-sustaining.  The  sup¬ 
ply  of  moss  upon  which  they  feed  covers  the  whole  of  northern  Alaska,  and  in¬ 
stinct  leads  them  to  secure  it  in  winter  as  well  as  summer  by  burrowing  through 
the  deepest  snows.  It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  speak  of  the  value  of  such  pack 
animals  to  the  prospector.  To  the  explorer  they  are  equally  valuable,  and  when 
supplies  fail  are  equally  valuable  as  food. 

“  If  I  may  revert  back  to  the  days  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  expedi¬ 
tion  to  that  part  of  the  country,  where  reindeer  could  be  procured  for  drafting 
as  well  as  for  food,  the  thousand  and  one  obstacles  that  at  first  seemed  insur¬ 
mountable  were,  through  the  medium  of  these  animals,  easily  overcome. 

“  The  natives  of  Alaska  quite  see  the  advantage  of  such  "an  animal  in  their 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  37 


midst,  have  expressed  to  me  their  eager  wishes  for  them,  and  along-  the  Yukon, 
the  most  thickly  settled  part  of  the  country,  the  white  people  £re  enthusiastic 
over  their  introduction,  for  in  them  they  see  a  solution  of  many  of  the  difficul¬ 
ties  of  existence  there. 

“Horses  and  cattle  have  been  tried  in  this  section,  but,  on  account  of  the  un¬ 
acclimated  nature  of  the  animals  and  the  impossibility  of  feeding  them  in  win¬ 
ter,  with  no  success. 

“THE  SIBERIANS  WILL  SELL. 

“Some  writers  and  others  have  claimed  that  the  Siberian  natives  will  not  sell 
reindeer  to  white  men,  but  Dr.  Jackson  and  I  have  disproved  this  by  buying 
during  the  past  summer,  at  different  points  on  the  Siberian  coast,  sixteen  of  the 
animals,  and  securing  promises  to  sell  us  as  many  as  we  could  take  care  of  the 
coming  summer,  should  they  be  wanted.  The  sixteen  we  purchased,  the  first 
ones  to  be  introduced  into  the  Territory,  we  placed  atUnalaskafor  propagation. 

“I  believe  this  is  the  most  important  question  that  bears  upon  the  Territory 
of  Alaska  to-day,  and  a  small  sum  donated  by  Congress  for  the  purpose  will  in 
the  end  develop  the  country,  its  character  and  resources,  and  prove  a  great 
benefit  to  the  commerce  and  wealth  of  the  United  States  in  general  and  the 
Pacific  coast  in  particular. 

“I  am  referring  not  to  the  Alaska  of  the  tourist — that  narrow  strip  of  island 
from  the  southernmost  boundary  to  Sitka— but  to  that  immense  territory  of 
500,000  square  mile-!  of  the  north  and  wrest  of  which  the  world  has  no  knowledge 
and  no  conception  ,  and  to  which  the  Alaska  of  the  tourist  bears  as  much  relation 
as  the  State  of  Florida  does  to  the  whole  United  States.” 


APPLICATION  FOR  A  TEAM  OF  REINDEER. 

Forty  Mile  Creek,  August  13 , 1892. 

Dear  Sir:  Capt.  Peterson  informs  me  that  you  would  bring  some  reindeer, 
bought  by  the  Government  to  distribute  in  Alaska.  If  you  did  get  any  and  send 
me  a  pair,  or,  better,  two  cows  and  one  bull,  I  will  surely  reward  your  trouble. 
I  am  doing  freighting  here  in  the  winter  with  dogs,  and  reindeer  would  be  far 
ahead  of  them.  You  could  leave  them  in  somebody’s  ca  e  in  St.  Michael  for  the 
winter,  and  have  them  sent  up  here  in  the  spring.  I  will  pay  for  all  the  expenses. 
If  you  did  not  get  any  this  year  for  the  Government,  and  you  have  a  chance  to 
buy  some  for  me,  I  wish  you  would  do  it,  and  I  will  pay  for  them  whatever,  it  is. 

Respectfully, 

Fritz  Kloke, 

Forty  Mile  Creek ,  Alaska. 


Appendix  M. 

COMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  REINDEER. 

[N.  Width,  importer  and  commission  merchant  of  Scandinavian  products,  63  Broadway, 

room  29.  Cable  address,  “  Puncheon,  New  York.”] 

607  Penn  Mutual  Building, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  16,  1892. 

Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson, 

Bureau  of  Education,  Washington: 

I  received  your  favor  of  the  14th  and  a  pamphlet,  which  I  have  read  with  great 
interest.  If  reindeer  can  be  imported  in  Alaska  from  Siberia  and  if  there  exists 
abundance  of  reindeer  moss  in  Alaska,  the  facilities  for  realizing  the  plan  are 
rather  great. 

Besides  the  advantages  mentioned  in  the  pamphlet,  there  exists  one  to  which 
I  want  to  call  your  attention — the  great  commercial  importance. 

To  Sweden  and  Norway  it  is  not  only  the  Laplanders  who  live  on  reindeer; 
smoked  reindeer  meat  and  smoked  tongues  are  sold  everywhere  in  the  said 
countries  and  the  hides  are  in  great  demand,  tanned  to  a  soft  skin  (used  for 
gloves,  military  riding  trousers,  etc.). 


38  INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA. 


There  are  merchants  in  Stockholm  the  only  trade  of  whom  is  in  Lapland  prod¬ 
ucts,  and  the  skins,  dried  with  the  hairs  on,  are  exported  by  the  thousands  to 
Germany  and  England.  I  sold  myself,  1878,  about  5,000  such  skins  to  a  firm  in 
Leipzig,  Germany.  The  Norwegian  Preserving  Company  use  large  quantities 
of  reindeer  meat  for  canning,  and  fresh  it  is  considered  a  delicacy.  Russia  ex¬ 
ports  fresh  reindeer  meat,  frozen,  in  carloads  to  Germany. 

The  price  of  smoked  hams  is  in  Sweden  about  10  to  9  cents  a  pound ;  of  smoked 
tongues,  8  to  10  cents  apiece  (or  a  pair,  I  can  not  exactly  remember  which) :  of 
dried  hides,  with  hair  on,  $1.25  to  $1.75  apiece,  and  more  if  they  are  not  worm- 
bitten.  The  Swedish  reindeer  have  mostly  a  kind  of  insect  which  lays  its  eggs 
in  their  skins;  this  causes  holes  which  are  seen  in  the  skin  when  tanned,  and 
diminish  their  value.  The  hairs  are  in  great  demand  for  the  filling  of  life-saving 
apparatus  (buoys,  etc.),  while  they  possess  buoyancy  in  a  wondrous  degree. 
The  best  existing  glue  is  made  of  reindeer  horns.  If  I  were  sure  of  getting  a 
trade  in  these  articles  and  had  the  money,  I  would  not  consider  it  a  moment,  but 
go  to  Alaska  at  the  first  opportunity  and  make  a  fortune  in  ten  years. 

The  number  of  reindeer  killed  for  the  trade  (besides  what  the  Laplanders  use 
for  themselves)  is  yearly  12,000  to  15,000  in  Norway,  probably  6,000  to  7,000,  be¬ 
sides  Sweden  imports  large  quantities  of  meat  and  skins  from  Finland. 

In  1881.1  visited  the  fair  in  Nischni-Novgorod,  Russia,  and  became  there  ac¬ 
quainted  with  a  merchant  from  Nuhangel,  who  had  brought  to  the  fair  5,000  pair 
smoked  tongues  and  6,000  tanned  skins  (the  tanned  skins  have  a  value  of  $2  to  $3 
apiece).  A  Swedish  dragoon  regiment  wear  trousers  exclusively  made  of  tanned 
reindeer  skins  (no  other  material  permitted). 

I  think  these  facts  might  be  of  some  interest.  Capt.  Healy  says  in  his  letter  : 
“If  the  Government  will  be  compelled  to  feed  the  Eskimo  it  will  costover 
$1,000,000.”  If  the  Government  realize  the  plan  of  domesticating  reindeer,  it 
would  probably  bring  a  good  yearly  income  to  the  United  States. 

Yours  respectfully, 

N.  Width. 


I  should  be  very  much  pleased  to  learn  later  on  how  far  the  project  succeeds 
and  what  steps  the  Government  will  take ;  if  I  move  to  Puget  Sound  next  fall  I 
shall  probably  make  a  trip  to  Alaska. 


Philadelphia,  Pa.,  December  31, 1892. 

Dear  Sir  :  Your  favor  of  the  29th  received,  and  in  answer  beg'  to  say,  that  I 
wrote  to  a  friend  in  Norway  about  a  book  or  pamhplet,  as  desired ;  I  think, 
however,  it  would  be  easier  to  get  such  book  from  England,  as  probably  some 
English  tourist  or  other  has  written  about  the  Laplanders,  who  always  have  been 
an  object  of  great  interest  to  tourists  traveling  in  Norway. 

The  acclimatization  of  reindeer  in  Alaska  would  most  certainly  considerably 
increase  the  revenues  from  this  province,  as  soon  as  some  thousand  deer  could 
be  yearly  slaughtered  and  the  hides  and  meat  brought  into  the  market.  I  be¬ 
lieve  I  have  written  to  you  hereabout  on  a  previous  occasion;  the  tanned  skins 
(soft  and  with  a  beautiful  yellow  color)  would  no  doubt  find  a  ready  sale ;  in 
Sweden  they  are  paid  with  seven  to  ten  kr.  ($2  to  $2.75)  and  used  for  military 
pantaloons,  gloves,  bed-pillows,  etc.,  and  the  hair,  owing  to  its  great  buoyant 
quality,  is  much  used  for  life-saving  material.  Russia  sends  frozen  reindeer 
meat  by  carloads  to  Germany. 

If  I  had  capital,  and  if  the  climate  in  Alaska  were  not  too  severe,  I  would 
like  very  much  to  start  such  trade,  in  which  I  have  some  experience. 

There  is  also  another  animal  which  would  suit  admirably  for  Alaska — the  so- 
called  “  Thibetian  ox,”  “  yak,”  also  “  gruntingox  ”  (probably  while  grunting  as 
a  hog).  The  animal  has  feet  as  a  goat,  well  fitted  for  climbing  rocks  and  stones; 
the  cow  gives  an  excellent  milk  which  gives  an  excellent  butter  (the  reindeer 
has  not  this  merit);  is  used  in  Thibet  also  very  much  for  transporting  purposes. 
This  ox,  which  is  to  the  natives  in  Thibet  what  the  reindeer  is  to  Laplanders, 
is  admirably  qualified  to  sustain  cold,  seems  even  to  love  the  cold,  and  to  thrive 
best  in  cold  and  rough  weather ;  it  loves  to  throw  itself  in  frozen  lakes  and 
rivers,  to  lie  in  snow  and  shady  places,  is  always  lying  in  the  open  air,  has  to 
seek  its  food  for  Jitself,  only  the  herders  have  to  take  care  to  bring  it  down  in 
the  winter  in  the  lower  regions  where  the  snow  melts  and  the  food  is  accessible. 

In  Thibet  these  animals  are  completely  left  to  themselves;  if  taken  some  care 


INTRODUCTION  OF  DOMESTIC  REINDEER  INTO  ALASKA.  39 


of  they  might  multiply  quicker  and  be  much  improved.  They  are  seen  in  the 
zoological  gardens  in  Europe,  probably  also  in  this  country  ;  might  be  shipped 
from  Bombay  or  Calcutta,  I  presume.  This  animal  might  become  by  and  by  as 
abundant  in  Alaska  as  formerly  were  the  buffalo  on  the  Western  prairies,  and 
make  Alaska  a  visiting  place  for  sportsmen. 

With  my  compliments  for  the  new  year,  I  remain,  dear  sir,  yours,  respectfully, 

N.  Width. 

Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson, 

Washington,  /).  G. 

P.  S. — As  a  proof  of  what  man  can  do  with  a  good  will  and  good  sense,  even 
in  the  cold,  inhospitable  region,  I  wish  to  mention  that  in  a  place  in  Sweden, 
under  67°  north  latitude,  where  rich  iron  ores  have  been  found  and  bought  by 
an  English  company,  a  Swedish  colonel  and  engineer  in  1890  planted  a  grand 
park  and  garden,  where  all  kinds  of  vegetables  are  growing,  even  rhubarb,  as¬ 
paragus,  cauliflower,  raspberries,  straw  berries,  currants,  large  pine  and  birch 
trees.  The  park  has  an  area  of  2,800  to  3,000  square  feet. 


Appendix  N. 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  San  Francisco, 

San  Francisco ,  January  SO,  1891. 

Resolved,  That  our  delegation  in  Congress  be  requested  to  urge  the  passage 
of  the  joint  resolution  introduced  December  19,  1890  (H.  Res.  258),  extending  to 
Alaska  the  benefit  of  laws  encouraging  instruction  in  agriculture  and  the  me¬ 
chanic  arts. 

Adopted  unanimously  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  San  Francisco  this 
20th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1891, 

Attest : 

[seal.]  Thos.  J.  Haynes, 

Secretary. 


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